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State representative apologizes for remarks made against Parents of Murdered Children group

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Published  May 23, 2022 11:14pm CDT
Houston
FOX 26 Houston

Texas Rep. Gene Wu apologizes to Parents of Murdered Children group

Texas Rep. Gene Wu apologized to families in the Parents of Murdered Children group, after he posted a tweet dismissing the group as a Republican organization.

HOUSTON - "As a parent of a murdered child I'm part of a club no one wants to be a part of, and there's actually a support group of us called Parents of Murdered Children," said Paul Castro.

Castro became a POMC member after his 17-year-old son David was murdered in a road rage shooting on July 6 of last year.

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For more than three decades Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers has been on the POMC board and oversees the monthly meetings.

"I have never in my three-plus decades ever heard anyone accuse Parents of Murdered Children of being partisan one way or the other," he said.

State Representative Gene Wu has accused Crime Stoppers of being partisan for calling out judges who grant multiple bonds to repeat violent offenders.

In a tweet, Kahan invited Wu to a POMC meeting.

"Mr, Wu declined. He said, 'I don't go to Republican organization events.' And when I woke up Saturday and saw that, that hurt me because it's not a partisan group," Castro said.

"For the life of me I can't figure out why a State Representative would come to the ill-advised conclusion that POMC meetings and Crime Stoppers are partisan," said Kahan. "That's about as far-fetched as you can get."

Castro was far from being the only POMC member seeing red over Wu's remarks.

"A request was being made and other Parents of Murdered Children joined me in that request saying it's time to apologize and make amends and just own what you said is incorrect," Castro said.

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"They were ticked off. And I'm being nice," Kahan said. "They were really ticked off,"

Castro wrote a letter to Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, who held a town hall meeting Monday night. Kahan, Wu, and Castro were all in attendance.

"I called them. I apologized to them," Wu said. "I told them that I would personally atone for it by making sure I will be engaged in their organization. I will make sure, on a personal level, that every single family in that organization is taken care of. If their local officials are not taking care of them, I personally will make sure that every family gets the services that they need and deserve."