ST. PAUL, Minn. — Gov. Tim Walz revealed during Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate that his teenage son Gus had witnessed a shooting at a community center in St. Paul last year.
“Look, I got a 17-year-old and he witnessed a shooting at a community that was playing volleyball. Those things don’t leave you,” Tim Walz said.
He referred to one shooting it happened in January 2023 at the Jimmy Lee Rec Center, when an employee shot a 16-year-old boy in the head. Gus Walz was one of about 100 youths at the community center when the shooting occurred, according to a Facebook post by his coach, David Albornoz.
Albornoz wrote the post soon after Gus Walz’s viral moments to cheer on his father at the Democratic National Convention. In it, Albornoz writes about the teenager’s infectious love of volleyball, and how he “kept everyone safe and calm and took care of the kids in the gym with us when I rushed out,” after the shooting.
Recreation Center Employee – Exavir Dwayne Binford Jr. – pleaded guilty to first-degree assault for the shooting of the 16-year-old and was convicted to 10 years in prison.
The criminal complaint says the health center was closed due to a fight between a number of girls. A girl inside the building was allowed to let her cousin in, which upset Binford, because “another employee undermined his authority,” documents state. He repeatedly called the girl a “b****”, and the 16-year-old victim became involved.
Binford then showed the two that he was carrying a gun, and the 16-year-old and the girl began beating him. Binford then backed up, pulled out the gun and shot the 16-year-old in the head, the prosecution said.
Tim Walz mentioned the rec center shooting during a questioning on gun violence in the United States.
“I didn’t know your 17-year-old witnessed the shooting. And I’m sorry for that. And I hope, God, have mercy. It’s terrible,” Sen. JD Vance told Tim Walz afterward.