TOLEDO, Ohio — Shootings overall in the city of Toledo are down in 2023 compared to last year, according to city police. But Tuesday's shooting that wounded two teens at Franklin Park Mall is a reminder that parents must be more vigilant in supervising their children and the city must do more to combat youth violence, TPD spokesman Lt. Paul Davis said Thursday.
"Juveniles shouldn't be in possession of guns," Davis told WTOL 11 Thursday. "Parents need to be involved in their children's lives, know what they're doing, who they're hanging out with, know what is in their room, know what's on their phone, know what's on their tablet, and then know where they're going."
Tuesday's shooting, shortly before 6 p.m., sent shoppers at Franklin Park Mall fleeing as officers chased a 16-year-old whom police said fired a weapon, injuring himself and another teenage bystander.
The teenage suspect, whom WTOL 11 is not identifying because he is not charged as an adult, appeared in Lucas County Juvenile Court Thursday on crutches because of his wounds. He faces charges of felonious assault, carrying concealed weapons and inducing panic. He entered the equivalent of a not-guilty plea Thursday and a judge ruled he must remain in custody rather than be released to his family.
According to police the teen took a gun to Franklin Park Mall Tuesday and accidentally fired the weapon near the food court shortly before 6 p.m., shooting himself in the leg.
During the incident, a second person - also a teen - was struck by the bullet, police said.
"It was one round of fire that hit him and ricocheted into her," Davis said.
The teen then took off running, catching the attention of uniformed, off-duty Toledo police officers who were at the mall to provide security. The mall hires off-duty officers for such security work year-round, Davis said.
"They said they wanted unattended juveniles to leave the mall, so those officers were trying to get the juveniles to leave," Davis said.
When officers heard gunfire they noticed one teen running from the area where the shot had been fired.
"An officer then saw a juvenile jump a wall, holding his waistband which is typical of someone running with a gun in their waistband," Davis said.
Officers chased the suspect through the mall, eventually through the Dick's Sporting Goods store and out into the parking lot. They later found the suspect with a bullet wound hiding in a dumpster.
The teen is not cooperating with authorities, Davis said. Officers have determined the shooting was accidental based on other evidence, he said.
"We believe at this time it was accidental, "Davis said. "We are still investigating. Things can change."
But why would any teenager think it is necessary to carry a gun at the mall? Davis said young people are able to get their hands on weapons too easily. He also urged parents to be more involved in their children's lives so they can know about problems that may lead them to think they need a gun.
"Are they having problems with people? Have sit down conversations with them, and, you know, really dig in to what's going on in your kid's life," Davis said. "You may be surprised what's going on and maybe you could help before something like this happens.
Despite Tuesday's incident, Toledo has seen a decline in shootings in 2023, Davis said. The number of persons-shot cases is down 29% compared to 2022 and overall shootings are down 3%, Davis said.
But as many of the gun-violence incidents in the city this year have involved teenage suspects and teenage victims this year, Davis urged young people and parents to take a more serious approach to the issue.
"Juveniles don't need to have weapons," Davis said. "If you have beef with somebody there are other avenues to handle that."