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Buffalo gunman was ‘armed with weapons of war and hate-filled soul’: Biden

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The gunman who opened fire on a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in what authorities described as a “racially-motivated attack” has a “hate-filled soul,” President Joe Biden said Sunday.

While speaking at an event to honor law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2021, Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for the victims and their families.

“A lone gunman, armed with weapons of war and hate-filled soul, shot and killed 10 innocent people in cold blood at a grocery store on Saturday afternoon,” the president told the crowd outside of the Capitol.

All 10 victims who died in the attack are Black, law enforcement officials said. One of the wounded victims was Black while the two others were white, they said.

Biden said the Justice Department has stated publicly that it’s investigating the matter as “a hate crime and an act of racially-motivated violent extremism.”

“As they do, we must all work together to address the hate that remains a stain on the soul of America,” Biden said. “Hearts are heavy once against but our resolve must never, ever waver.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement on Saturday that the Justice Department is “committed to conducting a thorough and expeditious investigation into this shooting and to seeking justice for these innocent victims.”

An 18-year-old male suspect, Payton Gendron, is in custody, according to the Buffalo Police Department. Authorities allege Gendron shot four people in the parking lot before moving inside the store, where he proceeded to shoot nine more people.

Gendron live-streamed the attack on social media and etched the names of previous mass shooters and racial epithets on the gun he allegedly used during the attack, a source familiar with the investigation told ABC News.

Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph A. Gramaglia said during a new conference on Sunday afternoon that the evidence collected so far indicates “this is an absolute racist hate crime.”

Gendron is believed to have written a 180-page document which fixated on “replacement theory,” a white supremacist belief that non-whites will eventually replace white people because they have higher birth rates, authorities said.

Other racist and anti-Semitic tropes were reportedly included in the document, which the suspect appears to have posted online before the attack.

Sweden to apply to join NATO, joining Finland in ending nonaligned status

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Sweden will apply to formally join NATO, following in the footsteps of neighboring Finland, the country’s prime minister said, ending long-held positions of neutrality in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“The best for our country’s security is that Sweden applies for membership in NATO and that we do it now together with Finland,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said on Monday. “And following today’s debate in Parliament, the government is ready to make a decision about an application. That will be the starting point for a process that includes ratification in all the NATO member’s parliaments and after that, the government will return to Parliament with a proposal for ratification for Swedish membership of NATO.”

“As nonaligned countries, Sweden and Finland have been contributing to stability in our region, but that changed when Russia invaded Ukraine,” she added.

President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland announced their intention to apply for NATO membership on Sunday, with the country’s Parliament expected to endorse the proposal as a formality.

Leaders in both Sweden and Finland had long been expected to apply to join the military alliance, as the war in Ukraine continues to have unintended consequences for Russia by potentially pushing two more of its neighbors into NATO.

Last week, Dmitry Peskov, Russia’s presidential press secretary, said that “another enlargement of NATO does not make our continent more stable and secure.” Peskov reiterated that stance on Monday, saying that although Russia had “no territorial disputes” with Sweden and Finland, unlike in Ukraine, Russia believed it to be a “serious issue” that they are following “very closely.”

Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ann Linde said last week that Finland’s leaders had delivered an “important message,” adding that her country “will decide after the report from the security policy consultations has been presented.”

The Scandinavian countries have long held neutral status when it comes to European conflict. Finland became a neutral country after the Second World War, while Sweden has resisted military alliances long before that.

Yet fears that Russia could do to other non-NATO countries what it has done to Ukraine has sparked a rapid shift in public opinion in both countries, one of which, Finland, shares an 830-mile land border with Russia.

Both could be on the cusp of joining NATO. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has publicly said the Nordic countries would be welcomed into the alliance, however the process could take months once their formal applications have been sent in.

Ahead of any official announcement from both countries for NATO membership, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had previously signed mutual security assurances in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

NATO’s expansion would be yet another unintended consequence for Russia, as they continue to be met with fierce resistance in Ukraine and a more united West than their intelligence assessments anticipated. Part of Russia’s security demands ahead of the invasion in Ukraine included reverting NATO forces to 1997 positions.

Since NATO was founded in 1949, the alliance has expanded to include 30 member countries, including three former Soviet republics, and the inclusion of Sweden and Finland would further expand the alliance’s influence in the Arctic and in the areas around Russia.

Stoltenberg said just days ahead of the invasion “if Kremlin’s aim is to have less NATO on Russia’s borders, it will only get more NATO. And if it wants to divide NATO, it will only get an even more united Alliance.”

This prediction now appears to be coming true — although Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov last month said that NATO is a “tool sharpened for confrontation” and it is “not an alliance that ensures peace and stability” when asked about Sweden and Finland. Experts say the expansion will be evidence of yet another strategic blunder on Russia’s part.

Even as public opinion has shifted, there are still those that opposes NATO membership for the Nordic countries, fearing it would lead to increased tensions with Russia.

“I’m afraid that NATO membership will increase actually the tensions in the Baltic Sea region and also will increase the tensions in Finland, especially regarding the eastern border,” Veronika Honkasalo, one of the few members of Finland’s parliament who doesn’t believe the country should join, told ABC News.

Furthermore, there are concerns that Sweden and Finland could be vulnerable to Russian attacks during the application process, though State Department spokesperson Ned Price moved to reassure both countries last week, saying: “I am certain that we will find ways to address concerns they may have regarding the period between the potential application and the final ratification.”

However, polling reported in both countries appears to show a significant majority are in favor of NATO membership.

“[Putin] has for years said Finland and Sweden joining is a red line,” Charly Salonius-Pasternak, lead researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told ABC News. “He’s managed to drive both Finland and Sweden towards NATO. So I think a massive miscalculation for him, but I think a positive thing for the rest of Europe.”

“It’s very clearly the population that changed its opinion in, say, six months, radically so,” he said, adding that the shift in public opinion had a snowball effect into Sweden, as fears grew about what could happen without the umbrella protection of NATO membership as the war in Ukraine continued.

“Now Russia has gone so far that joining NATO seems to be the only genuine solution here,” he said.

FDA commissioner says agency looking to boost baby formula supply

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said the Food and Drug Administration is finalizing a plan to import more baby formula to the U.S. amid a nationwide baby formula shortage.

“We are moving on the product that was intended for other countries,” Califf told Good Morning America Monday. “And I anticipate that by the end of the day today, we’ll have a detailed announcement about how that’s possible.”

“Remember that the instructions need to be in a language that can be understood by mothers and caregivers that are putting the formula together for these infants and also, we have to be able to test the formula to make sure that the 30 required constituents are actually there in the right amounts,” he added.

Federal regulations require baby formula to include 30 nutrients in various amounts, such as vitamins A, D and E, as well as protein and fat.

The makeup of baby formula is crucial since having too many or not enough nutrients can harm a baby and lead to serious health consequences.

Califf warned parents and caregivers not to try making homemade formula as a substitute for formula.

“That’s a very bad idea, because formula, as I said, has 30 constituents and have to be there in the right amount,” the commissioner said. “Ten of which, if they’re there too much, if there’s too much of that constituent, can be dangerous. So formula for infants is a total substitute for breast milk … so we need the infant formula. It’s critical for so many families but it’s got to be the right stuff.”

The FDA is also working closely with domestic baby formula manufacturers, according to Califf.

“We’re working really closely with Abbott and I expect in a very short period of time, we’re gonna have an announcement about the path forward. I think we figured out what to do,” Califf told GMA. “Abbott’s recently indicated that in as short as two weeks, they can be in action and begin to do their part and getting supply back on the shelves. Of course, it takes longer to get in full motion.”

Last week, Abbott, one of the country’s largest baby formula producers, said that pending FDA approval, it would restart their plant in Sturgis, Michigan, a facility that makes many specialized formulas, including EleCare and Alimentum hypoallergenic baby formula products. A recall in February led to the facility’s temporary shutdown after concerns linked the plant to a bacterial outbreak.

On average, nationwide, 40% of baby formula is out of stock and states like South Dakota and Missouri have seen 50% out of stock, according to data firm Datasembly. The crisis has hit families of children with allergies and health conditions more acutely.

Amy Dolan, of Flanders, New Jersey, has a son, Connor, who needs specialized formula.

Connor has a milk protein allergy and his parents have been searching high and low for the specific baby formula he relies on.

“We’ve been actively looking all the time. Every night, we lay in bed and we’re checking what websites we can find and how much it’s gonna cost,” Dolan told GMA. “People saw it as an opportunity to buy all this formula and, you know, price gouging parents who will pay anything.”

Russia-Ukraine live updates: ‘Historic day’ as Finland, Sweden say they will apply to NATO

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.

The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

May 15, 3:45 pm
Video shows bright-burning munitions falling on Azovstal steel plant

A video released Sunday by a pro-Russian separatist commander showed a shower of bright-burning munitions cascading down on the Azovstal steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, where a few hundred Ukrainian fighters remain holed up weeks after the city fell into the hands of Russian forces.

The video shows projectiles bursting into showers of burning matter which then explode on contact with the ground or buildings.

ABC News has not been able to verify the authenticity of the video. Reuters was able to verify the location of the aerial footage to the Azovstal steel plant, but was not able to confirm the date and time the video was taken.

The footage was posted on Telegram by Alexander Khodakovsky, a commander of the pro-Russian self-proclaimed Republic of Donetsk.

“If you didn’t know what it is and for what purpose — you could say that it’s even beautiful,” Khodakovsky said in a message that accompanied the video.

It was not immediately clear what type of munitions were seen in the video.

Khodakovsky could not be reached for comment.

Ukrainian military officials said there was no letup on Sunday in Russia’s bombardment of the steel works plant.

May 15, 3:09 pm
Sweden’s ruling party supports a NATO bid

Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic party announced Sunday that its board has decided to support the historically neutral country’s bid to join NATO.

The party said it will now work to advance Sweden’s application for membership to NATO.

If the application is approved by NATO, the Social Democratic Party said it will express unilateral reservations against the deployment of nuclear weapons and permanent bases on Swedish territory.

“We Social Democrats believe that the best for Sweden’s and the Swedish people’s security is that we join NATO,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said at a news conference Sunday. “This is a decision that was taken after careful deliberations. A position in favor of NATO means that we are prepared to abandon a security policy that Sweden has had in different forms over 200 years.”

Andersson added, “For us Social Democrats it is clear that the military non-alignment has served Sweden well, but our conclusion is that it won’t serve us as well in the future.”

Leaders of Finland, another historically neutral Nordic country, also announced on Sunday that it will also apply for NATO membership.

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Buffalo gunman had plans to continue his killing rampage: Commissioner

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — Payton Gendron, the alleged gunman who shot fatally 10 people in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday, would have continued his rampage if he had not been stopped, Buffalo Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told ABC News.

“We have uncovered information that if he escaped the [Tops] supermarket, he had plans to continue his attack,” Gramaglia said. “He had plans to continue driving down Jefferson Ave to shoot more black people … possibly go to another store [or] location.”

Gendron, wearing military fatigues, body armor and a tactical helmet, allegedly shot four people in the parking lot of a Tops supermarket around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, three fatally. He proceeded inside the store where he was confronted by a retired Buffalo police officer working security, police said. The gunman then proceeded to shoot nine more people inside the store, police said.

All 10 victims who died in the attack were Black — six females and four males ranging in age from 32 to 86, law enforcement officials said. One of the wounded victims was Black while the two others were white, officials said.

The three survivors were hospitalized with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, authorities said. Four of the shooting victims were store employees; the others were customers.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen says he suffered ‘minor stroke,’ is hospitalized

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., was hospitalized this weekend after suffering a minor stroke, he said Sunday.

He was admitted to George Washington University Hospital after experiencing lightheadedness and acute neck pain while delivering a speech in western Maryland, the senator said in a statement.

An angiogram Sunday indicated he had “experienced a minor stroke in the form of a small venous tear at the back of my head,” Van Hollen said, adding that he has been told there are no “long-term effects or damage as a result of this incident.”

His doctors advised him to remain under observation for a few days, out of an abundance of caution, the senator said.

“I look forward to returning to work in the Senate later this week and thank the medical team for their excellent care,” he added.

“This weekend, after feeling lightheaded while delivering a speech, I sought medical attention at the recommendation of the Attending Physician,” he tweeted when sharing his statement. “I’m feeling much better but will follow doctors’ orders and curtail my schedule for the next few days.”

The news comes after Pennsylvania Lt. Gov John Fetterman, the leading Democratic candidate in the Pennsylvania Senate race, said he also suffered a stroke, on Friday.

“I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long,” Fetterman said in a statement released Sunday afternoon.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

One killed, 5 wounded in shooting at California church: Authorities

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(LAGUNA WOODS, Calif.) — One person was killed and five were wounded in a shooting at a church in Laguna Woods, California, on Sunday, authorities said.

Four were critically hurt and one person suffered minor injuries from the shooting inside the Geneva Presbyterian Church, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office tweeted. All victims are adults and range in age from 66 to 92 years old, the sheriff’s office said.

A group of churchgoers detained the suspect and hogtied his legs with an extension cord and confiscated two handguns from him before more people could be shot, according to Jeff Hallock, Undersheriff at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

“That group of churchgoers displayed what we believed exceptional heroism, heroism and bravery in interfering or intervening to stop the suspect,” Hallock said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said later Sunday that it had arrested a suspect who was described as an Asian man in his 60s. The suspect will not be identified until after he is booked into the Orange County Jail, the department said.

The man was taken into custody and two firearms were recovered at the scene, authorities said.

Investigators are working to determine where the suspect lives and whether he has any connections to the church or its congregants; they are unsure if he is from the area.

“The Presbytery of Los Ranchos is deeply saddened by a fatal shooting that occurred at a lunch reception honoring a former pastor of the Taiwanese congregation that nests at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods,” Tom Cramer, Presbytery head of staff, said in a statement Sunday. “Please keep the leadership of the Taiwanese congregation and Geneva in your prayers as they care for those traumatized by this shooting.”

The suspect opened fire at a lunch banquet at the church following a morning service, Hallock said.

The shooting was reported at about 1:26 p.m. local time, authorities said.

Hallock said a motive and whether the suspect had an intended target is unknown.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI are en route to assist local officials.

There were 30-40 people inside the church when the shooting began, officials said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Without COVID-19 vaccines, death toll would be much higher: Pfizer analysis

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — In the wake of the tragic milestone of 1 million official COVID-19 deaths in the United States, a new analysis found that without vaccines, the virus would have likely claimed more than 100,000 additional lives in 2021.

The analysis, sponsored by Pfizer, estimated that the Pfizer vaccine alone likely saved more than 110,000 lives in 2021, the first year of the vaccination campaign.

Though Pfizer sponsored the analysis, experts interviewed by ABC agreed it was reasonable, echoing prior estimates that the death toll would have been more than three times in 2021 in the absence of effective vaccines.

“With this model, I don’t see the numbers falling out of range and I do suspect that they are a reasonable representation of what could’ve happened in the absence of COVID-19 vaccines,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, FIDSA, infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, told ABC News.

The analysis did not include an estimate of lives saved from vaccines from Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.

“In some ways, it could even be a potential undercount,” John Brownstein, Ph.D., epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, and ABC contributor, said.

The analysis is significant, experts said, because it’s essential for everyday Americans to understand that vaccines save lives — especially in the face of ongoing vaccine skepticism and misinformation.

“We’ve seen in real-world analysis or modeling studies like this one that have shown the role that vaccines have played … and hopefully, this is one more additional data point to help reaffirm how these vaccines play such a pivotal role in changing the course of this pandemic,” Brownstein said.

The new Pfizer vaccine analysis estimates the company’s vaccine prevented 8.7 million symptomatic cases, 690,000 hospitalizations and 110,000 deaths in 2021. Included in these projections, are approximately $30.4 billion saved in health care costs.

The Pfizer vaccine is the most-utilized vaccine in the U.S., with more than 120 million Americans choosing Pfizer for their initial two-shot series, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When modeling the potential outcomes, researchers used data on projected infection rates, average times lost at work due to infection, vaccine efficacy, vaccination rates, and risks of being infected or hospitalized.

Although hundreds of Americans still die of COVID-19 every day, doctors on the frontlines said there is a marked difference in the pre-and post-vaccine era.

“I worked in the ICU in May 2020 and it was staggering the amount of patients — I only had three patients that made it out alive,” Dr. Katie Adib, internal medicine resident physician at The Ohio State University, told ABC News.

“Now there are nowhere near the amount of people,” Adib said. “Those in the ICU who have been vaccinated tend to make it out.”

The CDC recommends that everyone ages 5 and older get vaccinated against COVID-19, and those who are eligible to also seek booster shots for further protection.

“I 100% think the vaccines have saved lives,” Adib said.

Rebecca Fujimura is a Family Medicine resident physician at MedStar Health/ Georgetown-Washington Hospital Center and is a contributor to the ABC News Medical Unit.

24-year-old woman gets new heart after suffering heart attack at 14

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(AVON, Ind.) — An Indiana women who suffered a heart attack at age 14 is now celebrating a new start in her life after undergoing a heart transplant.

Jaelyn Kinchelow, of Avon, Indiana, was running at her middle school track practice nearly a decade ago when she said she felt a tightness in her chest.

“All I could remember was myself slowing down because I just couldn’t keep up,” Kinchelow told Good Morning America. “Shortly after that, my legs gave out and I fell to the ground.”

Kinchelow was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was diagnosed with a heart attack and quickly underwent open-heart surgery.

Surgeons repaired a torn coronary artery wall using a vein from Kinchelow’s leg, but permanent damage to her heart remained.

“After surgery my heart was only functioning at about 5%. They put me on an ECMO machine,” Kinchelow said, referring to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, which removes carbon dioxide from the blood and sends back blood with oxygen to the body, giving the heart and lungs time to heal in critical care situations. “They didn’t think I was going to make it so they had to do all they could to keep me alive.”

After spending nearly one month in the hospital, including eight days in a coma, Kinchelow was able to go home.

She went on to high school, participating in show choir and roller skating, and earned her bachelor’s degree, with a dream of becoming a nurse, like the ones who had helped save her life.

At the start of her last semester of nursing school, in January, Kinchelow said she again began to feel a shortness of breath.

“I couldn’t do my daily activities. I was too tired to talk upstairs,” she said. “I went to the hospital and spent three weeks in the hospital in January and they decided I needed to be on the transplant list.”

Kinchelow was admitted to the hospital in mid-January and spent the next two months there, waiting for the right heart to become available.

“The call is the thing you look forward to when you’re waiting. You just never know when it’s going to come,” she said. “They were saying that with my blood type, it’s like one of the longest waits. That was one of the things I was just scared of.”

On March 27, Kinchelow got the call she had been waiting for from a woman named Debbie, who was Kinchelow’s transplant coordinator at the hospital.

“They handed me the phone and she said, ‘I have some good news for you,’ and I said, ‘Debbie, if you’re not calling about a heart I don’t want to hear it,'” recalled Kinchelow. “I just lost it after that.”

The next day, Kinchelow underwent a 12-hour surgery to receive her new heart. Her old heart was so enlarged she said doctors took around six hours to remove it.

“Her story is pretty unique,” said Dr. Robert K. Darragh, Kinchelow’s pediatric cardiologist at Riley Children’s Health and an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. “There are some questions medically that we still don’t have perfect answers for her about how she got to the point of needing a transplant.”

As Kinchelow recovered from the transplant, she said she received a letter from the family of her heart donor, something she said was surprised to receive since typically it takes over a year for a connection to be made.

“They said the family jumped through hoops to make sure they got a letter to me,” she said. “That was a huge surprise and so emotional for me.”

Kinchelow said she is now sharing her story to raise awareness about both organ donation and the risks of heart disease among women.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Black women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Across all races, heart disease causes about one in every five female deaths each year, while only about half of women know that heart disease is their No. 1 cause of death, according to the CDC.

And in the U.S. alone, more than 100,000 adults and children are currently on the national transplant waiting list, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

“If more people were donors, there wouldn’t be a waiting list, and some people don’t make it because there aren’t enough donors,” said Kinchelow. “I want to put it out there, just think about it and do your research.”

Kinchelow was discharged from the hospital in May, five months after she was first admitted and put on the transplant list.

She said she plans to “pick up where she left off” and finish her nursing degree and then begin her career helping to save other people’s lives.

“I would say to anybody, don’t take your health lightly,” said Kinchelow. “Although I was 14, I knew something was not right. It’s important to pay attention to anything that feels different.”

John Fetterman, candidate in Pennsylvania Senate race, suffered stroke Friday

May 16, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Pennsylvania’s Lt. Gov John Fetterman, the leading Democratic candidate in the Pennsylvania Senate race, said Sunday that he suffered a stroke on Friday.

“I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long,” Fetterman said in a statement released Sunday afternoon.

“The good news is I’m feeling much better, and the doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage. I’m well on my way to a full recovery. So I have a lot to be thankful for. They’re keeping me here for now for observation, but I should be out of here sometime soon. The doctors have assured me that I’ll be able to get back on the trail, but first I need to take a minute, get some rest, and recover,” he added.

Fetterman and his wife, who he credited for catching his stroke symptoms, also posted a video from a hospital. Giselle Fetterman poked fun at her husband.

“I made you get checked out, ’cause I was right, as always,” she said in the video.

It is unclear when Fetterman will return to the trail ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.

Dave McCormick, a businessman who is running for Senate in the Republican primary election, sent well wishes to John Fetterman later on Sunday. “Glad to hear you’re doing well, John. Wishing you a fast recovery,” McCormick tweeted.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former talk show host who has former President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the Republican Senate primary, also tweeted, “I have cared for atrial fibrillation patients and witnessed the miracles of modern medicine in the treatment of strokes, so I am thankful that you received care so quickly. My whole family is praying for your speedy recovery.”

Fetterman, who has served as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor since 2019, has staked out progressive positions during his primary campaign. Among other Democrats, he faces fellow progressive state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and centrist Rep. Conor Lamb in Tuesday’s primary.

Lamb, who is trailing Fetterman, sent well wishes via tweet:

“I just found out on live TV that Lieutenant Governor Fetterman suffered a stroke. Hayley and I are keeping John and his family in our prayers and wishing him a full and speedy recovery,” Lamb said.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who is behind Fetterman and Lamb respectively in recent polling, also weighed in.

“As I said at the first debate, John Fetterman is an incredible family man. My prayers are with him and his family as he recovers from this stroke. I look forward to seeing him back on the campaign trail soon,” he said.

Fetterman’s revelation comes as the U.S. marks National Stroke Awareness month in May. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., who suffered a stroke in January, told ABC News earlier this month that when he was feeling the symptoms of a stroke, “I never thought it was a stroke. Even as I was going to the hospital, I just thought I wasn’t feeling well. And a stroke hitting me, that wasn’t on my mind at all.”

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