TOLEDO, Ohio — Breanna Dykes has lived in the same west Toledo area where 14-year-old Calub Ellis was shot and killed Monday night for six years. The shooting happened at Sylvania Food Mart, where Dykes often shops.
"I was kind of shocked that it was so close to our house," Dykes said. "I was kind of scared for my own son and me."
She said Calub's death was the first shooting in the neighborhood since she moved in. And she believes the whole neighborhood will live differently because of the incident.
"I think that we'll all be a little bit more aware and will look out for our children," Dykes said.
She isn't alone, either. WTOL 11 spoke to other people in the neighborhood and although they didn't want to be interviewed, they were put on high alert because of the incident.
Shawn Mahone, Sr., the founder of Young Men and Women for Change, a youth behavioral modification program in Toledo, said incidents like this put the community at risk. He believes juvenile delinquency is an emergency in the city.
"We're finding that most of the crimes that are happening, especially with the shooting and gun violence under age 18 and under, which is really sad," Mahone said.
He said neighbors can help violence in their own neighborhoods if they speak up.
"I think people are afraid in the neighborhood. People are not what they used to be," Mahone said. "We really have to strengthen our block watch and get people more involved."
Tina Scott, the president of the West Toledo Association, used to be on the block watch for 16 years.
"The more neighbors that get involved, the better off all of us are," Scott said.
She says every time a shooting like this happens in the community, it affects the people who live in it.
"It gets worse every time with everybody," Scott said. "It's heart-wrenching to know that a child has died."
She said she doesn't understand why the violence happened to Calub.
"From what I'm reading and hearing, he was a good kid and the mother is a very good mother," Scott said. "Why this child? Why him? What is the reason to shoot this 14-year-old boy? It's senseless."
Scott encourages those who see violence or have information to call Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111. By doing this, she says you can help stop violence in your community.