FBI video shows what Rittenhouse did before shooting 3 people 1:01
(CNN) -
An armed paramedic who was shot by Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year testified Monday that he drew his own firearm because he believed Rittenhouse was an active shooter.
Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, testified that he drew his pistol on August 25, 2020, as he and a crowd followed Rittenhouse, who had just fatally shot another man.
Rittenhouse fell to the ground, shot twice at an unknown person and then fatally shot Anthony Huber.
Grosskreutz, just a few feet away, put his hands in the air, videos show.
She then saw Rittenhouse re-aim her gun, a move that charges her to fire, she testified.
"Re-pointing the gun in my mind meant that the defendant pulled the trigger while my hands were in the air, but the gun did not fire, so by re-pointing the gun I deduced that the defendant was not accepting my surrender," he testified .
However, Grosskreutz did not pull the trigger on his gun, he said.
"I never tried to kill the defendant. At the time, I was trying to preserve my own life, but doing it while taking the life of another is not something that I am capable of or that I am comfortable doing."
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"That's not the type of person I am," he added, citing his medical background.
New FBI Aerial Surveillance Video Shows Never-Before-Seen Actions Before Kyle Rittenhouse Shot 3 People
The testimony, given as prosecutors played videos of Grosskreutz's movements that night, came at the beginning of the second week of trial for Rittenhouse, who fired an AR-15-style weapon eight times amid protests following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Rittenhouse, 17 at the time, shot dead 36-year-old Joseph Rosenbaum, who was unarmed, in a parking lot and then tried to flee.
A crowd followed his movements and Rittenhouse then shot twice at an unarmed unknown individual, fatally shooting the 26-year-old unarmed Huber and shooting Grosskreutz in the arm.
Now 18, Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to seven counts, including first-degree manslaughter;
reckless murder in the first degree;
attempted murder in the first degree;
the latter of which for wounding Grosskreutz.
Defense attorney Mark Richards said Rittenhouse fired only in self-defense.
In opening remarks, he described Rosenbaum as the aggressor in the initial incident and said that Huber and Grosskreutz were part of an attacking "mob".
The prosecution called 14 witnesses last week, including police officers, witnesses and gunmen in Kenosha that night.
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Grosskreutz's carrying license had expired
Gaige Grosskreutz, 27 years old.
Grosskreutz testified Monday that he was a trained paramedic and helped provide first aid at about 75 demonstrations during that summer's Black Lives Matter protests in Milwaukee.
He traveled alone to Kenosha on August 25, 2020 because he felt his medical knowledge and experience would be helpful.
He wore a hat that said "paramedic" and brought medical supplies and his firearm, which he said he carried with him every day.
He admitted that his carrying license had expired and he had not renewed it.
Grosskreutz said he treated about 10 people that night, including one who had a serious cut after being hit by a rubber bullet.
At one point that night, he heard gunshots, ran toward the source, and ran into Rittenhouse, running down the street.
"What are you doing? Did you shoot someone? Who did they shoot?" Grosskreutz asked, the video shows.
Rittenhouse replied, "I'm going to go to the police," the video shows, but at the time Grosskreutz believed he had said "I'm working with the police."
Along with an earlier interaction with another gunman, Grosskreutz thought the comment was strange and noteworthy.
He backed off a bit, but continued to follow Rittenhouse down the street.
"Drawing more inferences from things that I had heard, experienced and witnessed earlier in the evening, I thought the defendant was an active shooter," he said.
Witness at Kyle Rittenhouse's trial says first shooting victim acted "belligerently"
During the confrontation that followed, Rittenhouse shot Grosskreutz in the right bicep, he testified.
He said he spent a week in the hospital and several months in physical therapy for his injury.
During questioning, defense attorney Corey Chirafisi noted that Rittenhouse fired when Grosskreutz pointed his gun at him.
"It wasn't until he pointed his gun at him, advanced on him with his gun ... that he fired," Chirafisi said.
"Correct," Grosskreutz replied.
In the redirect, he clarified that he did not intentionally target Rittenhouse.
"At some point during that encounter, did you intentionally point your firearm at the defendant?" Asked prosecutor Thomas Binger.
"No, I didn't," he replied.
Additionally, Grosskreutz acknowledged that he incorrectly told police last year that his firearm had fallen out of his pants that night and did not admit that he had a weapon at the time.
He also said he had only "minimal information" about Rittenhouse or his previous actions at the time of the shooting.
Police say pepper sprayed Rittenhouse
Also Monday, Kenosha Police Officer Jason Krueger testified that he fired pepper spray at Rittenhouse after the teen shot three people.
Krueger said he and his partner were responding to a fire call in the area when they heard gunshots.
As they approached the vicinity of the shooting, Rittenhouse approached the patrol car with his hands in the air, Krueger testified.
Krueger ordered Rittenhouse to "stay away" and "stay away" from the car, but Rittenhouse kept walking toward police, he testified.
Krueger then deployed his pepper spray on Rittenhouse, who backed off.
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Krueger testified that he did not believe Rittenhouse was giving up.
Video taken that night shows Rittenhouse approaching a line of police vehicles with his arms in the air, but police passed without stopping him.
CNN's Melissa Alonso, Mike Hayes, Julia Jones, and Brad Parks contributed to this report.
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