A Minnesota man brutally shot a 17-year-old boy, but the motive behind it traces back to a revenge belief tied to a past tragedy

Revenge or vengeance can ruin anyone’s mindset; this is a well-known fact, but even in the modern world, people harbor an intrinsic hatred for others, leading to eventual catastrophe. Similar to a Florida man killing his wife and her lover in the name of revenge, an event took place in Minnesota when a 62-year-old shot a young boy multiple times, injuring him, and left him there to die. However, the motive behind this dreadful act seems to be revenge.​

According to People, Gyaw Way, 61, is accused of attacking a child in St. Paul, Minn., on Tuesday, April 7, as per court documents cited by KARE 11, KSTP and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The victim suffered multiple wounds in his liver and lungs, and was in the car when the alleged attacker shot him multiple times, trying to kill him. It was revealed that his act was driven by revenge for the death of his son, who died in a fire last December.​

Per the witnesses, Way wanted to have revenge on the child’s father, whom he thought was somehow involved in the house fire in which his son was killed. Even though he accused the child’s father, the fire department declared the incident an accident, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Way appeared to be a Korean immigrant as he seemingly did not have any command of fluent English, and was limited to just “sorry,” “baby die,” and “no accident,” per the complaint.

He accused himself through his broken English and explained why he committed such a heinous attack

Way, in his own words, explained that he tried to kill the child because he believed the boy’s father was the one who caused the fire that killed his own son. Even during the investigation, Way continued to insist that the fire which caused his son’s death was not an accident. We have heard about a man intentionally setting fire to a building because he was frustrated, but the victim’s father wasn’t involved in anything similar that might have taken Way’s son’s life. Even if he did, his alleged act still cannot be justified.

Even though this incident is driven by revenge, the recent trends in America outline the dreadful rise of child homicide in America. According to Our World in Data, the homicides of children aged under 15 are even more than all other ages combined. In 2023, 30,200 children were killed in homicides, while 22,800 Americans of other ages met a similar end. The disparity among the figures suggests that these cases seem to be happening with minors the most.​

But as far as this case is concerned, the accused Gyaw Way has indirectly accepted his involvement in the attack on the child. Gyaw was declared mentally unwell per records cited by KSTP and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and is charged with first-degree felony assault. Coming back to the 17-year-old victim, he is expected to recover.