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 MulgraveParkhome.

Gabriel ison trial in Halifax for the second-degree murder in the death of Ryan White.He faced cross-examination Thursday aftertestifying in hisown defence Wednesday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

Gabriel has told a jury hefeared for his lifeat 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 RickWoodburn'sseries of questions. He answeredmost with, "Yes, sir," or,"No, sir."

'I was scared'

Gabriel said on the night of the shooting he hadtucked his children in with the handgun on him. They were asleepupstairs, and his fiance out with friends, whenWhite showed up at his door.

Gabriel said he sent friendDurrellBundyto answer a knockbecause he was afraid of being shot despite knowingBundycould be hurt.

Gabriel and some companions thenwent 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 sawWhite and another man, both dressed in black and wearingmasks. He said hebelieved 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 thefight with White. Gabriel said he had his hand on the handle of his gun, still stuck in his pants.

He said hebelieved White was a carrying a gun.Theystruggledfor control of Gabriel's, he said.

"I grabbed it with force. I grabbed it with fear," Gabrielsaid.

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 himpolice 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."

TheCBC's Blair Rhodes live bloggedfrom the trial.