A new testimony is available at the trial in the United States of Kyle R., who injured and killed several people in a demonstration last year.
Kenosha – Gaige Grosskreutz, the paramedic who survived the shooting by teenager Kyle R. at a demonstration by Black Lives Matter in the summer of 2020 in Kenosha, USA, testified in court on Monday (November 8th, 2021). He himself had therefore also drawn his gun and pointed it at the shooter, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Grosskreutz’s statement takes a closer look at what happened on the night of the crime (August 25, 2020). The process is now about legal subtleties: The defense argues that Kyle R. acted out of self-defense. Several participants in the demonstration followed him shortly before the crime and some injured him. Through video material that exists from the course of events, attention is paid to the smallest details in the behavior of the accused and the witness.
Kenosha: Teenager injures and kills several protesters
Kyle R., a 17-year-old lifeguard, volunteered to guard a used car dealer in Kenosha to protect the shop from rioting demonstrators. He had lied about his age and his first aid training.
After midnight he is said to have left his post in front of the shop, as well as his partner. Several demonstrators are said to have tried to disarm him. He then shot the first four times. This died with a shot in the head. The shooter fled, tripped and then kicked by a man. The teenager is said to have shot this man too, but missed him. Then, it is said, other demonstrators approached Kyle R., who was still lying on the ground.
One of them then made the next attempt to disarm the shooter. It is said that he hit him with a skateboard and fought him for the rifle. Kyle R. was still able to fire a shot at the man. He did not survive the gunshot wound either.
Trial in Kenosha (USA): Witness intervened – and was seriously injured
Finally, the witness Gaige Grosskreutz approached the shooter with a weapon in his hand. The teenager is said to have severed his biceps with one shot. Only then did Kyle R. be incapacitated. He was then arrested and charged. The allegations are drastic: multiple premeditated murder and illegal possession of weapons. If found guilty, he faces life imprisonment.
The defense strategy is to plead for self-defense. This version of the course of events is now neither conclusively refuted nor fully supported by Grosskreutz’s statement. Grosskreutz describes the events from his point of view: “At that moment I wanted to protect my own life.” After seeing that Kyle R. had already killed another man, he assumed he would be the next.
Kenosha trial: Wounded witness gives his view of what happened
Gaige Grosskreutz, 28 years old, is a trained paramedic and took part in the demonstration to provide first aid to injured protesters. He and a friend organized a group of first responders who came to the protests in Milwaukee after George Floyd’s death in the summer of 2020 to provide first aid. As the Chicago Tribune reports, Grosskreutz testified that he gave first aid to around ten people on the evening of August 25, 2020.
In addition to medical accessories, his equipment also included a weapon, which he says he always carries with him: “I am in favor of citizens’ right to carry weapons with them. This evening was like any other day. That means keys, cell phone, wallet, weapon. “
USA: Trial of Kyle R. – Injured paramedic includes his own weapon in his equipment
Grosskreutz had acquired his weapon legally. However, their approval had expired at the time of the demonstration. Carrying his weapon on that day was therefore illegal. A crucial point for the legal decision on the course of events is that Grosskreutz had drawn this weapon when he ran after Kyle R.:
“I considered the defendant to be an acute threat [in the original: ‘active shooter’]. Whenever weapons are added to an equation, the risk is much higher, people are in danger and could be killed. ”That is the only reason why Grosskreutz followed the shooter. He did not chase after him, but only wanted to help people who could possibly be injured. He was also concerned about Kyle R. himself in this regard.
Kenosha process – hunted down or moral courage?
According to the Tribune, the defense interpreted this pursuit as a pursuit of the accused. While Kyle R. was running down the street, he fell and fell onto the sidewalk. Anthony Huber hit him lying there with a skateboard. Then R. shot the 26-year-old Huber, who died of the injury.
Much evidence of the event is available in the form of videos, some of which were made by the participants themselves. Grosskreutz also recorded various videos, including the moment he pursued and posed Kyle R. According to the Tribune, you can see Grosskreutz approaching R. with his cell phone in one hand and his weapon in the other.
Trial in the US: Video evidence could be fatality for shooters
According to the Tribune, the video also shows how R. turns around to Grosskreutz with his semi-automatic weapon. Grosskreutz raises his hand – a gesture with which, according to his statement, he wanted to appease. “I thought it was very likely that I would be shot myself,” said Grosskreutz in his statement.
He did draw his gun when he ran after Kyle R. In no way did he behave in such a way that one should have thought of him that he would now shoot. Grosskreutz further stated that he did not want to shoot the teenager, but it could be that he accidentally aimed the gun in his direction.
The video then shows that R. turns his weapon as if to check it. This movement, he says, led Grosskreutz to believe that the teenager now wanted to reload the weapon: “The fact that he would reload the weapon made me believe that the defendant would not accept my surrender,” Grosskreutz said in his testimony according to the Chicago Tribune.
Kenosha Trial (USA): The evidence in the form of videos and pictures is appalling
Grosskreutz then took a step forward in the video, stretched his left arm and pulled the right arm, which was holding the weapon, backwards. Then R. shot him in the right bicep. His upper arm was shattered from the gunshot and he cried out in pain for a medic. Several surgeries were required, but the feeling below his elbow has not yet been restored, the tribune said.
During the interrogation, the accused made regular notes, according to the Tribune. However, he did not show any reaction when pictures of the serious injuries of the witness Grosskreutz were shown. Some jurors, however, would have grimaced at this point and averted their eyes. Grosskreutz also filed a $ 10 million lawsuit against the criminal prosecution of Kenosha, because they had used R. as a kind of agent. Part of the blame would therefore lie with the authorities. (n / A)
