Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate that his son Gus was among the many Americans who have witnessed a shooting, causing an otherwise contentious sparring session to be briefly waylaid by a moment of human compassion.
“I’ve got a 17-year-old,” Walz said, as part of answer to a question about the issue of gun violence, “and he witnessed a shooting at a community center playing volleyball.”
“That’s awful,” JD Vance muttered, visibly surprised.
When it was the Ohio senator’s turn to respond, Vance turned to Walz.
“Tim, first of all, I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting, and I’m sorry about that and I hope he’s doing OK,” he said.
Then he proclaimed: “Christ have mercy. It is awful.”
“I appreciate you saying that,” Walz thanked him.
Walz has previously referred to the anecdote along the campaign trail while discussing the need for gun control.
“Too many of us have been there,” he said at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan two weeks ago. “My own son was in a location where someone was shot in the head.”
Dylan Wells, a campaign trail reporter for The Washington Post, tweeted out shortly after Walz’s remark that the shooting witnessed by Gus took place last January in St. Paul, Minnesota. The incident did not directly involve the teenager, who watched as a 26-year-old recreation center employee shot a 16-year-old boy in the head.
The victim was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, but survived after undergoing emergency neurosurgery, according to local reports. The gunman later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Gus won national attention and the hearts of many social media users for his outsized emotional outburst at the Democratic National Convention as his father accepted the vice presidential nomination. As the cameras in the arena zeroed in on the teenager, a sobbing Gus could be seen shouting, “That’s my dad!”
After right-wing commentators ridiculed Gus for show of emotion, others pointed out that the Walz family had previously opened up to People about Gus’ neurodivergence. The teenager has a nonverbal learning disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Though he focused on supporting tighter restrictions on firearms, Gov. Walz’s full answer to the gun violence question on Tuesday night drew further scorn from right-wing observers, who fixated on one particular gaffe the governor uttered.
“I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents. I’ve become friends with school shooters,” he said, apparently misspeaking. “I’ve seen it.”
