A shooting at Stewartville High School in Minnesota left one student injured and the suspect dead, prompting a heartfelt response from Michigan basketball player Will Tschetter, an alumnus of the school. Tschetter, a fifth-year senior forward, addressed the incident after playing in Michigan's win over Maryland. He described the event as a sad reality of gun violence that hits deeply when it affects those close to home.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Will Tschetter, a fifth-year senior forward for the Michigan Wolverines, reflected on a tragic shooting at his alma mater, Stewartville High School in Minnesota, following Michigan's victory over Maryland on Saturday night at Xfinity Center.
The incident occurred on Friday around 5 a.m., when about 40 students and coaches were in the school parking lot preparing to board a bus for a wrestling tournament in North Dakota. A student was shot on school grounds, and the adult male suspect died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to authorities. The injured student was reported in critical but stable condition.
Tschetter, who was a standout athlete and student at Stewartville High before joining Michigan, learned of the event through a text from his mother confirming his family's safety. His younger brother, a junior at the school, had not yet arrived on campus. Another brother graduated from Stewartville last year.
Stewartville, located about 100 miles southwest of Minneapolis, has a population of just under 7,000 and school enrollment under 600.
After playing nine minutes in the game, Tschetter shared his thoughts: “You hear about things happening like this across our country. It’s just ridiculously sad. It’s just something that you never really expect, like, ‘Oh, that might happen to me.' When it actually does affect the people that you know, that you grew up with, it just hits that much deeper.”
He added, “It’s just the sad reality of where we are” regarding gun violence in general. “Stuff definitely needs to change.” Tschetter mentioned speaking with a few teammates about the incident.
