Gaige Grosskreutz’s Story: I Walked Away That Night

MILWAUKEE —

The woman was crying. She was bleeding and screaming. The reason, there was a hit by rubber bullet since police cleared protestors from the Kenosha’s Civic Park that night on Aug 25. She was lying on the ground in complete shock. Knelt beside her: Gaige Grosskreutz

Since he was a paramedic, he ran to her with the equipment needed for treating her wound. Even though few people remained in the park, there was a line of officers in a riot, and they kept advancing. There was no sign that they would break rank just to let him treat the woman. There was no one to offer her help. Either some other man or Grosskreutz has to pick her up and try to move her once, they tried, but it was the third time they failed. Finally, they ended up on some hill, and in that place, Grosskreutz did everything to stop her bleeding.

Now, the woman was stable, and she got to her feet. Meantime Grosskreutz also stood. By now, police had moved on, but one more group of heavily armed men arrived. They were all white, and none of them wear any badges. They entered the same field where Grosskreutz was there. They were dressed in olive drab and camouflage. The group carried rifles and wore body armor. Within a few minutes, Grosskreutz was on the ground bleeding. He survived even after the triple shooting. If we consider third night shots, Grosskreutz was one of them. These protests started after a Black man, Jacob, was shot by Kenosha Police, seven times in the back.

The other two victims on Aug 25 that were part of the triple shooting are Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, and they both didn’t survive. Kyle Rittenhouse, the shooter, 17 of Antioch, Ill., identified himself as a citizen-soldier. He was armed with AR-15, and he was telling people that he traveled to Kenosha, and he intends to protect life and property. Apart from first-degree intentional homicide, Rittenhouse is also charged with five more felonies. John M. Pierce, his lead attorney of the law firm called Pierce Bainbridge, has plans to argue self-defense.

Grosskreutz considers demonstrations as a way to protest police brutality, and it is a first step towards ending inequality. He thinks protests and demonstrations will bring the ideal of justice for everyone. ON Thursday, Grosskreutz told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “I wanted to participate in the protest and planned to help amplify my sisters’ and brother’s voices. CNN interview and interview with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel were on the same day, and through this, he made his first public comment about the shooting.

Grosskreutz, 26, is a Milwaukee native but living in West Allis. He went to his first protest, and he wanted to support LGBTQ rights when he was in high school. One of his teachers, who were teaching American Politics, always excused him from class to participate in protests. Later Grosskreutz got the training and became a paramedic. The primary reason was he always wanted to ease people who are suffering. It may be emotional or physical. He doesn’t remember when he first treated a gunshot wound. Even though there were many, they all ran together. He even helped dozens of people who were overdosed.

Grosskreutz said, “All these years, you know, I was thinking. I think about how to stop people from getting shot? How to avoid people from becoming victims of overdosing? Because of all this, I went back to school.” Now, Grosskreutzis learning outdoor education, and there is an emphasis on program administration as well. He has an aim to work in wilderness therapy. He wants to become a part of a team that is dedicated to activities like skiing, kayaking, swimming, and camping and helps people to overcome substance abuse and trauma. But, now, his education is on hold, and his career is at risk soon after he was shot.

Both paramedic and patient The videos of protests and shootings are widely circulating on the Internet. There is a moment captured where a .223 rifle shredded his right bicep. Grosskreutz said, “At that moment, I felt that I was the best person and trained to help myself. You know, I felt it as an out-of-body and ethereal experience.” “At the moment, in mind, head, I was thinking and knowing. Like with my training and my experience with what had happened to me, there was just three minutes before I completely passed out. If no one around me knows what to do, that is the worst situation.”

He was surrounded by chaos and gunshots. He had worries he could shot again. But, his training kicked in, and he used his left hand and put pressure on his wounded arm. He started shouting for a medic. There was a live streamer that broadcasts on the CJ TV channel, and it was the only one rushed for his aid. There was a tourniquet in Grosskreutz’s backpack. Witnesses later described what happened on the night when Kyle Rittenhouse shot Jacob and opened doors for fire in Kenosha. They said, ‘That’s the shooter.’

Grosskreutzsaid, “I am hoping God, and I think you know what to do with this.” CJ told, “In his head, Grosskreutz was telling himself he can work through all this. He was giving instructions to where I can put tourniquet, and he insisted me to make it tighter.” Grosskreutz said, “He was the one who saved my arm, and he helped me to save my arm. He could have saved my life too, and because no one knows how the events later would have played.” Continue to fight for justice. Grosskreutz received treatments at two hospitals in Kenosha. Later he was airlifted by Flight for life and reached Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee.

He already knew that he was in serious condition, but he paramedics from the critical care team on the helicopter put him at ease. He never thought of this, and he made a joke that “my first medevac ride turned me as a patient.” In the hospital, there was a serious conversation among doctors, and some even raised a possibility that they may have to amputate. Grosskreutz said, “Even though I broke down when participating for good, later I started thinking that, I easily walked away with life. There were two more that couldn’t do it that night. You should always be thankful and meantime strong for them.”