A skateboarder demanding justice on behalf of Jacob Blake, a Black father shot seven times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, immediately sprang into action when gunfire erupted amid a protest in the Wisconsin city earlier this week.
Anthony Huber and his girlfriend, Hannah Gittings, were marching with demonstrators along a crowded street in downtown Kenosha late Tuesday when the violence erupted. It marked the third straight night of protests in the city, where 29-year-old Blake was gunned down in front of his children on Sunday.
Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old aspiring cop, was arrested Wednesday for shooting three protesters, including Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, who both died from their wounds. The third victim, identified as Gaige Grosskreutz, was shot in the arm and is expected to recover.
The teen was charged a day later with with first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree reckless homicide, and attempted first-degree homicide in connection with the attack.
Gitting, in an interview with CNN published Friday, said she watched her 26-year-old boyfriend run toward the gunman, armed only with a skateboard, in the moments after he shot Rosenbaum.
Rosenbaum, who was unarmed, was the first to attempt to take Rittenhouse’s AR-15, prompting the gunman to fire off four shots. In a phone call placed immediately after, he said he “just killed somebody” and took off running, according to a criminal complaint.
A group of protesters gave chase and converged on Rittenhouse after he stumbled and fell to the ground.
Huber caught up with gunman first and charged, his skateboard raised.
“He pushed me out of the way, like he was telling me to run off, and I tried to grab him,” Gittings recalled. “I should have been there, but there was going to be no changing his mind.”
According to the complaint, Huber attempted to pull the gun from Rittenhouse’s hands but was also shot.
“He ran up on somebody with an assault rifle, like he was just gonna tackle dude to the ground,” Gittings told WISN.
“He came at the dude, dude rolled on the ground, and had a perfect vantage point to just put one in him, and he did.”
From there, Rittenhouse sat up and 36-year-old Grosskreutz, who was armed with a handgun, started to approach him from a distance with his arms raised. The teen responded by taking aim at the 36-year-old and firing, striking him once in the arm, according to the complaint.
Grosskreutz fled, allowing Rittenhouse to finally come back to his feet. He pointed his weapon at people gathered nearby and slowly backed down the road.
Authorities were able to identify the 17-year-old from social media posts, including video shared online that captures most of the deadly confrontations.
“If those three hadn’t run up on that dude, he would have opened fire into the crowd,” Gittings said. “Who knows what he would have done. He already killed someone.”
Huber, who leaves behind a young stepdaughter, is well-known in the skateboarding community. In a Facebook post earlier this week, Gittings urged people to “go out there and skate as hard as you can” in memory of her boyfriend.
Mourners and friends reportedly gathered earlier this week at the Basik skatepark in Kenosha, where they wrote notes in chalk to their fellow skater.
Some on social media tried to justify the protest shootings by accusing Huber and Rosenbaum of provoking the suspect and sharing their criminal history.
According to online record, Huber was arrested several times on battery, drugs and other charges. Rosenbaum meanwhile, had an open criminal case on battery, disorderly conduct and domestic abuse charges, according to the Wisconsin Circuit Court website. His previous record could not immediately be confirmed.
