Gaige Grosskreutz, a 27-year-old victim in the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial, testified in the fifth day of the trial “I thought I was going to die,” the Associated Press reported.

Grosskreutz witnessed Rittenhouse gun down his second victim, Anthony Huber, a 26-year-old protestor, and decided to confront Rittenhouse thinking he was an active shooter. Rittenhouse responded by shooting Grosskeutz in the arm.

Rittenhouse is on trial for killing two men and faces six total counts, including possession of a deadly weapon by a person under 18. He was 17 at the time of the shooting. If convicted, he is facing life in prison.

Rittenhouse traveled across state lines from Illinois to Wisconsin with an illegally obtained AR-15 and a medical kit in what his defense team says was an effort to protect businesses during a protest related to the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha in August of 2020.

Grosskreutz had his gun in his hand with his arms raised when Rittenhouse shot him. A prosecutor asked him why he didn’t shoot Rittenhouse: “Like I said, that’s not the kind of person that I am. That’s not why I was out there,” he said. “It’s not who I am. And definitely not somebody I would want to become.”

Grosskreutz, a trained medic, said he attended 75 protests related to police violence in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. On the night he was shot, Grosskreutz was wearing a hat that said “paramedic” and was carrying medical supplies and a pistol. He had helped 10 people in Kenosha prior to confronting Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse’s first victim, Joseph Rosenbaum, was shot after he chased Rittenhouse into a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him filled with papers, socks, deodorant, and a toothbrush. Rittenhouse's lawyers have said their client feared for his life.

The trial sparks a heated debate over gun rights and vigilantism in addition to reliving the protests over police brutaliy and racial injustice.

RELATED STORIES