Rittenhouse shot first man at close range, expert says

The first man killed by Kyle Rittenhouse during a night of turbulent protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, was shot at close range of just a few feet and had soot injuries that could indicate he had his hand over the barrel of Rittenhouse’s rifle, a forensic pathologist testified Tuesday.

But it was unclear from video footage whether Joseph Rosenbaum was grabbing for Rittenhouse’s gun or trying to swat it away, said Dr. Doug Kelley, the pathologist with the Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office.

His testimony came after the jury at Rittenhouse’s murder trial watched drone video that was zoomed in and slowed down to show Rittenhouse wheeling around and shooting Rosenbaum at close range.

The prosecution was expected to rest its case in the afternoon after 5½ days of testimony in which some of its own witnesses often bolstered Rittenhouse’s claim of self-defense. His lawyers have suggested he was afraid his gun was going to be taken away and used against him.

Kelley said Rosenbaum was shot four times by someone who was within 4 feet of him. He testified that Rosenbaum was first wounded in the groin and then in the hand and thigh as he faced Rittenhouse, then was shot in the head and in the back.

Those final two shots were at a downward angle, as if Rosenbaum was horizontal to Rittenhouse, Kelley said. Prosecutors have said this indicates Rosenbaum was falling forward, while defense attorney Mark Richards said Rosenbaum was lunging.

Kelley said both were possible. Kelley also said Rosenbaum’s hand was “in close proximity or in contact with the end of that rifle.”

On cross-examination, Richards pointed out the small injuries from soot on Rosenbaum’s hand and said: “So that hand was over the barrel of Mr. Rittenhouse’s gun when his hand was shot.” “That makes sense,” Kelley said. The prosecutor later asked Kelley if Rosenbaum could have been swiping the gun away. Kelley said he couldn’t say, based on the video, what Rosenbaum was doing at the time.

The drone footage was the clearest video yet of the fatal shooting in August 2020 that set in motion the bloodshed that followed moments later: Rittenhouse, then 17, killed Anthony Huber, a 26-year-old protester seen on bystander video hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard. Rittenhouse then wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, a protester and volunteer medic who came at Rittenhouse with a gun of his own.