Walz's account of his son's brush with gun violence offers a poignant moment in the VP debate

A debate-stage revelation about gun violence personally affecting Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz's son offered Republican candidate JD Vance a moment of compassion Tuesday night.

During the debate, Minnesota's governor said his 17-year-old son, Gus Walz, witnessed a shooting in St. Paul while practicing volleyball at a community center.

On January 18, 2023, then 16-year-old JuVaughn Turner was shot in the head outside the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center in St. Paul by the center's 26-year-old employee, Exavir Dwayne Binford Jr. The recreation center is located just a few miles from the Walzes' home in St. Paul.

In February, Binford pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in December. At the sentencing, a lawyer representing the victim's mother said he had to have part of his skull removed and he still suffers from seizures.

The moment came up during a question about gun violence.

“Well, I think every parent watching tonight, this is your worst nightmare. Look, I have a 17-year-old who witnessed a shooting at a community center while he was playing volleyball,” Walz said. “These things don’t let you go.”

As Walz spoke, Vance responded, “That’s terrible.”

When it was his turn to respond during the debate, he expressed his condolences to Walz.

“Tim, first of all, I didn't know that your 17 year old witnessed a shooting and I'm sorry for that and I hope he's okay. “Christ have mercy, it’s terrible,” Vance said.

Walz replied, “I appreciate you saying that.”

Walz previously told MPR News senior political reporter Dana Ferguson that Gus, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, was still struggling with it a year later.

“He was there with little kids, younger kids, he kind of supervised them, he pushed them under the bleachers,” Walz said in an interview with Ferguson in March.

After Gus was thrust into the national spotlight following his emotional reaction at the Democratic National Convention in August, coach David Albornoz posted on Facebook about his relationship with Walz, noting, “I also know him from the time a kid got shot in the parking lot and he helped. “We kept everyone safe and calm and took care of the kids in the gym while I rushed out.”

In the interview, Walz said local gun restrictions are a good thing and he supports laws that would allow cities or counties to ban firearms in public spaces.

“As a parent of a juvenile who was in that facility, I think it would have been a good decision to keep those firearms out there,” Walz said in March.

Walz is a gun owner and hunter who once had an A rating with the NRA but has distanced himself from the organization. In 2017, he said his views on firearm restrictions changed after hearing from people affected by gun violence.

In his 2023 State of the State address, he called on lawmakers to pass gun control laws.

“The time for thoughts and prayers is long past. We need action, and we need it now,” he said. “We all know damn well that weapons of war have no place in our schools, in our churches, in our banks or anywhere people want to live in peace.”

Later that year, Walz signed two bills that tightened background checks and established a new process to require the removal of firearms from people deemed to pose a risk. In the spring of 2024, he signed another proposal that increased penalties for providing fun to people who are not legally allowed to have it.