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13 things about West Allis, Wisconsin’s Gaige Grosskreutz

Gaige Paul Grosskreutz is an American man from West Allis, Wisconsin, United States. The city was named after Edward Phelps Allis.

BIOGRAPHY

On November 4, 2025, Grosskreutz turned 32. Here are 13 more things about him:

He is Janice A. Grosskreutz‘s grandson.

Aside from West Allis, he has lived in different parts of Wisconsin including Hales Corners, La Crosse, Ashland and Milwaukee.

He previously worked as a special events coordinator, a wilderness medical instructor and a sea kayak guide at Lost Creek Adventures, a full-service paddling outfitter in Cornucopia, Wisconsin that also offers courses in outdoor skills, wilderness survival and traditional crafts within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

He was part of the People’s Revolution Movement, a social justice group based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

During his freshman year of high school, he went to his first protest in support of LGBTQ rights and his American Politics teacher excused him from class, USA Today has learned.

He studied outdoor education with an emphasis in program administration at Northland College in Ashland.

From 2009 to 2012, he attended West Allis Central High School.

In 2010, he was arrested in West Allis.

In 2013, he was arrested in La Crosse.

From 2013 to 2016, he attended Milwaukee Area Technical College at the Oak Creek, Wisconsin campus where he earned his emergency medical technician basic (EMT-B) certification.

In 2016, he was convicted of a criminal misdemeanor for going armed with a firearm while intoxicated and had a forfeiture case for not showing obedience to officers and one for loud noises.

In 2020, he was shot in Kenosha by Kyle Rittenhouse, a native of Antioch, Illinois, USA who is 9 years younger than him.

In 2021, Wenzel Media LLC owner Patti Breitigam-Wenzel organized a fundraiser for him.

TIMELINE

A keen kayaker, Grosskreutz often took people out on boating trips and he was part of a team that uses camping, kayaking, skiing, swimming and other activities to help people overcome trauma or substance abuse. It was his goal to pursue a career in wilderness therapy.

2010s

On November 17, 2010, the West Allis Police Department arrested him for simple assault. His grandmother Janice called the police and accused him of striking her across the face with an open hand during an argument.
On August 8, 2013, he was arrested in La Crosse and charged with burglary, theft, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

2020s

He was part of a group of activists who demonstrated around Milwaukee to seek justice for George Floyd, who died on May 25, 2020, Milwaukee activist Bethany Crevensten told The Oklahoman.
From June 2020 to July 2020, he volunteered as a medic for the Black Lives Matter protests around Milwaukee.
On August 25, 2020, he was shot by Rittenhouse while they were in the same Black Lives Matter demonstration in Kenosha. After being treated at two hospitals in Kenosha, Flight for Life airlifted him to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee.
He was expected to graduated from Northland College in Ashland in December 2020 but his education was put on hold after he was shot by Rittenhouse in Kenosha.
On January 4, 2021, Breitigam-Wenzel organized a GoFundMe fundraiser for him.
When he testified in court on November 8, 2021, he explained why he was armed on August 25, 2020. He said, “I believe in the Second Amendment. I’m for people’s right to carry and bear arms and that night was no different than any other day. It’s keys, phone, wallet, gun.”
Attorneys for him and the estate of Rosenbaum said two people “did not deserve to die that night” when Rittenhouse was found not guilty on one count of first-degree reckless homicide, two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment on November 19, 2021.
He and Rittenhouse appeared in the documentary film “Kyle: The Gunman Who Divided America”, which was released in the United Kingdom on July 16, 2024.

This article was updated on November 4, 2025.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv21bE9PWtE

#Kenosha #WestAllis #Wisconsin

CONAN Daily Jan 5, 2021

Fundraiser organized for West Allis, Wisconsin’s Gaige Grosskreutz

Gaige Paul Grosskreutz of West Allis, Wisconsin, United States was one of the men shot by Kyle Rittenhouse on August 25, 2020. They were in the same Black Lives Matter demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin that day.

Rittenhouse was born in Antioch, Illinois, USA to Michael “Mike” Rittenhouse and Wendy Lewis Rittenhouse. Mike and Wendy got married in 2000.

Gaige Grosskreutz

Kyle Rittenhouse

During the demonstration, Kyle was one of the armed civilians who wanted to protect businesses from vandalism. Grosskreutz was one of the protesters demanding justice for Jacob Blake, who was shot by Kenosha Police Department officer Rusten Sheskey in the back at least eight times on August 23, 2020.

Carrying a Smith & Wesson AR-15 style .223 rifle, Kyle fatally shot two protesters namely Joseph D. Rosenbaum and Anthony M. Huber. Grosskreutz held his handgun in his right hand as he approached Rittenhouse, who then shot Grosskreutz’s right arm.

“I just killed somebody,” Kyle was heard saying during a cellphone call at 11:46 p.m. that evening. Still carrying his rifle, he approached police vehicles with his hands up after shooting but the officers did not stop him.

Gaige Grosskreutz

With a PARAMEDIC cap, a medical bag and a handgun, Grosskreutz volunteered as a medic earlier that night. He was part of the People’s Revolution Movement, a social justice group based in Milwaukee, and attended the demonstration with the group.

While wounded, Grosskreutz told those helping him to apply a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. He was rushed to a hospital in Milwaukee where he underwent reconstructive surgery.

Wenzel Media LLC owner Patti Breitigam-Wenzel organized a GoFundMe fundraiser for Grosskreutz. Breitigam-Wenzel has known him since 2011 and considers him as a son and told the Chicago Sun Times that he has “always been someone who’d help out his friends and give them the shirt off his back if he has one.”

Grosskreutz is represented by Kimberley Motley. On November 4, 2020, he turned 27.

#WestAllis #Wisconsin