Pennsylvania Republican senate candidate Mehmet Oz said he “did the right thing” pulling a gun on an innocent unarmed black jogger in 2013.
On Wednesday, a video of a 2013 local report went viral on social media that featured Oz defending his misdeed on camera.
“I believe I did the right thing, but I may have broken the law during the course of it, and, you know, I’m certainly not above the law,” he told Action News 4.
The incident reportedly occurred outside Oz's home in 2013 after hearing what he thought were gunshots on a nearby street. According to Oz, he saw a man wearing a face mask and goggles running on foot through his neighborhood and immediately took him as a suspect. Evocative of the Ahmaud Arbery tragedy, Oz then called 911, armed himself with a shotgun, and proceeded to follow the stranger in his truck before the situation escalated into a confrontation.
“I didn’t know if it was a rampage. I didn’t know if it was a drive-by. I didn’t understand. No one could know what was going on at that point other than a large number of shots were fired from what sounded like a high-powered rifle,” said Oz. “At that point, I made a decision as a parent, and as a mayor, to intervene until the first responders could get there and sort it all out.”
Oz brandished his shotgun when he caught up to the man and ordered him to stop.
“I ordered him twice, ‘Just stay right there,’ and he refused. That’s when I felt like I needed to make sure because I didn’t know what was coming,” Oz said. “I did remove a weapon from my car, but I did not point it at him. In fact, I didn’t even have a round chambered or the safety off.”
The man, Chris Miyares, countered Oz’s claims, alleging that the former mayor aimed the shotgun at his chest.
“I pulled my sunglasses off and pulled my earphones out of my ear, and I looked up, and it was the mayor of Braddock,” Miyares said. “He jumped in his Ford F-150 and followed me into North Braddock and pulled a shotgun and aimed it at my chest.”
Miyares added that he believed the sounds Oz heard were kids firing off bottle rockets nearby.
“There were three kids in the parking lot where the dumpster is by the library. They were just shooting off bottle rockets. I heard it when I was running up Parker [Avenue] and it kind of got me too until I looked up and saw colors,” he said.
Miyares said that he immediately put his hands up when the police arrived.
Though Miyares maintains that Oz has only lied about the incident, he ultimately supported his U.S. Senate bid in 2021, arguing that he has done more good than bad as a politician.
On Wednesday, a video of a 2013 local report went viral on social media that featured Oz defending his misdeed on camera.
“I believe I did the right thing, but I may have broken the law during the course of it, and, you know, I’m certainly not above the law,” he told Action News 4.
The incident reportedly occurred outside Oz's home in 2013 after hearing what he thought were gunshots on a nearby street. According to Oz, he saw a man wearing a face mask and goggles running on foot through his neighborhood and immediately took him as a suspect. Evocative of the Ahmaud Arbery tragedy, Oz then called 911, armed himself with a shotgun, and proceeded to follow the stranger in his truck before the situation escalated into a confrontation.
“I didn’t know if it was a rampage. I didn’t know if it was a drive-by. I didn’t understand. No one could know what was going on at that point other than a large number of shots were fired from what sounded like a high-powered rifle,” said Oz. “At that point, I made a decision as a parent, and as a mayor, to intervene until the first responders could get there and sort it all out.”
Oz brandished his shotgun when he caught up to the man and ordered him to stop.
“I ordered him twice, ‘Just stay right there,’ and he refused. That’s when I felt like I needed to make sure because I didn’t know what was coming,” Oz said. “I did remove a weapon from my car, but I did not point it at him. In fact, I didn’t even have a round chambered or the safety off.”
The man, Chris Miyares, countered Oz’s claims, alleging that the former mayor aimed the shotgun at his chest.
“I pulled my sunglasses off and pulled my earphones out of my ear, and I looked up, and it was the mayor of Braddock,” Miyares said. “He jumped in his Ford F-150 and followed me into North Braddock and pulled a shotgun and aimed it at my chest.”
Miyares added that he believed the sounds Oz heard were kids firing off bottle rockets nearby.
“There were three kids in the parking lot where the dumpster is by the library. They were just shooting off bottle rockets. I heard it when I was running up Parker [Avenue] and it kind of got me too until I looked up and saw colors,” he said.
Miyares said that he immediately put his hands up when the police arrived.
Though Miyares maintains that Oz has only lied about the incident, he ultimately supported his U.S. Senate bid in 2021, arguing that he has done more good than bad as a politician.
