Kale Leonard Gabriel testifies in Halifax murder trial he carried gun all day

Kale Leonard Gabriel says he kissed his kids goodnight with a loaded handgun tucked in his pants hours before he's accused of shooting to death a man in 2010 just footsteps from his Mulgrave Park home.

Gabriel is on trial in Halifax for the second-degree murder in the death of Ryan White. He faced cross-examination Thursday after testifying in his own defence Wednesday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

Gabriel has told a jury he feared for his life at the time of the shooting, there was price on his head for being a snitch, and he got the gun for protection after a conflict with White.

During cross-examination Thursday, Gabriel remained calm under Crown prosecutor Rick Woodburn's series of questions. He answered most with, "Yes, sir," or, "No, sir."

'I was scared'

Gabriel said on the night of the shooting he had tucked his children in with the handgun on him. They were asleep upstairs, and his fiance out with friends, when White showed up at his door.

Gabriel said he sent friend Durrell Bundy to answer a knock because he was afraid of being shot — despite knowing Bundy could be hurt. 

Gabriel and some companions then went outside to meet White, he said. 

"I was scared," Gabriel told court. "I couldn't wait for the problem to come to my house."

Woodburn asked if he could have simply taken his kids and fiance and driven away in his van. Gabriel conceded he could have. 

Instead, he slowed down to let his friends go ahead as human shields, Gabriel told court.

'I grabbed it with fear'

He testified he saw White and another man, both dressed in black and wearing masks. He said he believed White was calling on his phone for someone to bring a gun.

Gabriel kicked White in the head and a struggle followed.

Woodburn tried to dissect Gabriel's earlier demonstration in court of the fight with White. Gabriel said he had his hand on the handle of his gun, still stuck in his pants.

He said he believed White was a carrying a gun. They struggled for control of Gabriel's, he said. 

"I grabbed it with force. I grabbed it with fear," Gabriel said. 

When he heard a bang, Gabriel said he didn't realize White had been shot until he saw him clutching his wounds. 

No one helped White, and Gabriel didn't perform first aid or call 911, he said.

"They just left him there," Gabriel said.

"I was in a state of shock. I didn't know what to do."

'It was an accident'

After White was shot, Gabriel testified White's friend, Randall Samson, confronted him with a sawed-off shot gun. Gabriel said he told him police were coming, and Samson lowered the gun to look. Gabriel said he ran. 

He then buried his handgun until the man who gave it to him wanted it back. Gabriel also said he involved three people in a lie to cover up his involvement in White's shooting.

"I didn't kill nobody," Gabriel said. "It was an accident."

The CBC's Blair Rhodes live blogged from the trial.