Gun Violence Was on Obama’s Mind on Day Two of Hawaii Vacation

KAILUA, Hawaii — -- President Obama took a pause during day two of his Hawaii vacation to take to Twitter to praise the teen victim of an apparently gang-related, random shooting in Knoxville, Tennessee.

"Zaevion Dobson died saving three friends from getting shot. He was a hero at 15. What's our excuse for not acting?" the president asked on his Twitter feed.

Dobson, police say, was trying to shield three female friends from the gunfire when he was hit in the head late Thursday night.

Obama’s tenure as president has been marked by repeated incidents of major gun violence and he has been lobbying Congress unsuccessfully to pass stricter gun safely laws.

Shortly after Obama tweeted, he departed his Kailua rental home in a light rain to take his family on a hike.

First lady Michelle Obama and their two girls, Sasha and Malia, accompanied the president up to the Makiki Loop Hawaii Nature Center for a more than 90-minute hike. The Hawaii Nature Center is a nonprofit dedicated preserving areas of Oahu and Maui for connecting children with nature.

The drive to the Nature Center took Obama by his childhood school, Punahou School, a private college prep institution where the president spent much of the 1970s.

The First Family ended their Sunday with dinner at Morimoto, one of their go-to spots on Waikiki Beach. This is the fourth year in a row they’ve made the Asian-fusion restaurant—run by celebrity Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto—their first pick for dinner out.