VP Debate: Gov. Walz's son witnessed a shooting?

Did Gov. Walz's son witness a shooting?

Gov. Tim Walz's son was at a community center in St. Paul last year when a teen boy was shot outside.

(FOX 9) - Millions of Americans tuned in to watch Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance face off in their only vice presidential debate. The two candidates discussed a wide variety of topics, including gun control.

During the debate, Governor Walz referenced his son, Gus, who Gov. Walz said witnessed a shooting outside a recreation center in Saint Paul last year.

CBS News hosts a vice-presidential debate between Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz moderated by Norah ODonnell and Margaret Brennan on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. Pictured: Gov. Tim Walz. (Photo by Michele Crow

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Background

The Jimmy Lee Rec Center has a lot of history in Saint Paul. It is where Joe Mauer, Terry Winfield and Terrell Suggs all played youth sports. And it is certainly the biggest and busiest in the city.

"It really is the crown jewel of our 26 rec centers that we have across the city," says Andy Rodriguez, Saint Paul’s Parks and Recreation Director.

Now, suddenly, it’s also the center of national attention as it became a very poignant moment in the Vice Presidential Debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance.

"Hearing that being brought up in that type of a forum was a bit of an eye-opener," said Rodriguez. "I think my phone lit up quite a bit! But it does call back to things that are traumatic for people."

The debate

The center was mentioned by Governor Walz as he addressed a question about gun control.

"Look, I got a 17 year old," Walz said in the debate. "And he witnessed a shooting at a community center playing volleyball. Those things don’t leave you."

For Rodriguez, that phrase - those things don’t leave you - rang so true.

"That was a very challenging time. Probably the most challenging time in our department's history in terms of the magnitude of what that was."

Context

In January 2023, a fight in the parking lot escalated, ending with a 16-year-old shot in the head by a rec center employee who’d been caught up in the melee.’

The victim survived and the now-former employee is in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree assault.

The victim and his family sued the city, so they can’t talk about the incident, only the aftermath.

"Something of that magnitude to happen is very traumatic," said Rodriguez. "And it resulted in our rec center, our community center here being closed for four weeks."

Was Gus Walz really there?

But Gus Walz was indeed at the center during the shooting, and though he didn’t directly see the shooting itself, he witnessed the aftermath.

After Gus grabbed the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention in August, a rec center coach named David Albernoz praised Gus in a long post to Facebook. He related how they became friends as Gus helped coach volleyball at the rec center.

And he noted that after the shooting, "he helped keep everyone safe and calm, looking after the kids in the gym with us as I rushed out."