Montclair Resident Shot In Empire State Building Attack Attends State Of The Union

A Montclair native who was shot in the head during the 1997 Empire State Building attack attended President Barack Obama's State of the Union address yesterday in Washington, D.C.

Matt Gross was invited to the address Tuesday by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (N.J.)

Gross' brother, Dan Gross, also attended the address. Dan Gross is the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.  

Lautenberg said in a statement that Matt Gross puts a face to gun violence, and "[highlights] the need for common-sense gun safety reform," according to a released statement. 

“It's an honor to have Matt Gross join me at the State of the Union address to help put a human face on the scourge of gun violence in our country,” Lautenberg said.

“A vast majority of Americans support common-sense efforts to curb gun violence — such as my proposals to ban high-capacity magazines and require gun buyers to go through background checks — and we expect to hear President Obama forcefully push his commitment to tackling this critical public safety issue.” 

In Feb. 1997, a 69-year-old Palestinian teacher, Ali Hassan Abu Kamal, shot and killed one person on the building's observation deck and wounded six others before committing suicide.