Gaige Grosskreutz, the third man shot by Kyle Rittenhouse and only survivor, testified that he attempted to surrender to the then 17-year-old who then “reracked” his AR-style semi-automatic weapon in preparation to fire again.
“I inferred that the defendant wasn’t accepting my surrender,” Grosskreutz told the court.
Grosskreutz, a volunteer medic and protester armed with a pistol, testified the sight of Rittenhouse reracking his rifle forced him to close the distance between himself and Rittenhouse before he could be shot.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers have argued that during his encounter with their client, Grosskreutz was holding a pistol in his hand and was pointing it when Rittenhouse fired upon the volunteer paramedic.
On Aug. 25, 2020, Rittenhouse, then 17, went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, armed with an AR-style semi-automatic weapon. Rittenhouse, who lived in nearby Antioch, Illinois, and his lawyers have argued that he was at the demonstrations against racial injustice in the city to protect property from protesters. There had been days of unrest in Kenosha after a white officer shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was paralyzed after the shooting.
Rittenhouse faces five felony charges. If convicted of the most serious charge — first-degree intentional homicide — he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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