A paramedic who, along with two others, was shot by Kyle Rittenhouse during protests against racial injustice in Kenosha, Wisc., last year said in an interview that the teenager was an “active shooter.”
Gaige Grosskreutz survived being shot in the arm on Aug. 25, 2020, amid protests against the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Both of the other men Rittenhouse shot, Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, died.
In an interview on ABC News’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday, Grosskreutz was asked what he wanted people to remember most about the trial.
“I think the most important thing to remember is that Kyle Rittenhouse was an active shooter,” he said. “He murdered two men, and he attempted to murder me.”
Grosskreutz’s comments come as Rittenhouse stands trial for six charges in connection with the shootings, including homicide.
Rittenhouse, who is 18, took the stand in his own defense on Wednesday and argued that he shot Rosenbaum, Huber and Grosskreutz because he was trying to protect himself against potential violence.
During one of the most notable moments from his testimony, Rittenhouse broke down into tears as described the events that led to him shooting Rosenbaum, forcing the trial into a brief recess.
In his own testimony earlier this week, Grosskreutz told the jury that he was pointing a gun at Rittenhouse before he was shot. However, he said he didn’t draw his firearm with “an express intent of using it.”
“I think any time you see your would-be murderer on the stand, it’s emotional,” Grosskreutz said when asked on “Good Morning America” about Rittenhouse’s testimony.
Grosskreutz compared Rittenhouse crying to “a child who had just gotten caught doing something that he wasn’t supposed to.”
“More upset that he was caught and less upset about what he had done and what he had taken and the numerous lives that he affected during his actions that night,” he continued.
The defense rested its case on Thursday. The prosecution and defense will each be allowed two and a half hours for closing arguments on Monday before the jury begins deliberations.