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

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

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

CBS News will host a vice president debate between Senator JD Vance and Governor Tim Walz, moderated by Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan, on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. Pictured: Governor Tim Walz. (Photo by Michele Crow

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The Jimmy Lee Rec Center has a long history in Saint Paul. Joe Mauer, Terry Winfield and Terrell Suggs played youth sports here. And it is certainly the largest and busiest in the city.

“It's truly the crown jewel of the 26 recreation centers we have throughout the city,” said Andy Rodriguez, Saint Paul's parks and recreation director.

Now it's suddenly the focus of national attention, too, as it became a very poignant moment in the vice presidential debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance.

“Hearing that you were spoken to in a forum like that was an eye-opener for me,” Rodriguez said. “I think my phone lit up quite a bit! But it reminds me of things that are traumatic for people.”

The debate

The center was mentioned by Governor Walz when answering a question about gun control.

“Look, I have a 17-year-old,” Walz said in the debate. “And he witnessed a shooting at a community center while playing volleyball. These things don’t let you go.”

For Rodriguez, that phrase – these things don't let you – rang so true.

“That was a very challenging time. Probably the most challenging time in our department’s history given the magnitude of what this was.”

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In January 2023, a parking lot brawl escalated and ended with a 16-year-old being shot in the head by a recreation center employee who got caught up in the scuffle.

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

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

“It’s very traumatic for something of this magnitude to happen,” Rodriguez said. “And it caused our recreation center, our community center here, to be closed for four weeks.”

Was Gus Walz really there?

But Gus Walz was actually at the center of the shooting, and while he didn't directly see the shooting itself, he did witness its aftermath.

After Gus came into the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention in August, a gym trainer named David Albernoz praised Gus in a lengthy post on Facebook. He told how they became friends when Gus helped coach volleyball at the rec center.

And he noted that after the shooting, he “helped keep everyone safe and calm by taking care of the kids in the gym with us while I rushed out.”

Stand out

Saint Paul has put a lot of work into changing security and protocols at the recreation centers to ensure something like this can never happen again.

But that moment in the debate: from both Walz and Vance responding with empathy, also caught Rodriguez's attention.

“In our political climate, this doesn’t happen often. To see that level of sincerity I think was touching for people.”