TOLEDO, Ohio — On Tuesday night, chaos erupted at the Franklin Park Mall after what Toledo police described as an accidental shooting left two injured.
Less than 24 hours later, Toledo City Council member Sam Melden, who represents the district that contains the mall, shared his frustration with the bloodshed.
"As the details come out, and you find out it's a minor carrying a firearm, you know, it's disgusting," Melden said.
Tuesday's shooting isn't the first time Melden has had to comment on a shooting at the mall either. In November, somebody fired several shots into Dave & Buster's.
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Just hours before, Melden had been at Franklin Park Mall with his family.
"So many Toledoans are frequenting that area of the city so it's certainly a concern," Melden said at the time. "But for me, gunfire at the mall is as concerning as gunfire in our neighborhoods."
Fast forward to Tuesday, and it's the same topic, but a different day. Violence has yet again appeared in Melden's District, but it didn't come as a surprise to the councilperson.
Melden told WTOL 11 that if you look at the statistics of our region, a cold truth comes into focus.
"We live in a country with more guns than human beings, and we live in a state with some of the most lax gun laws that we have," Melden said. "When federal and state leaders are okay with a gun in the hands of anyone, then you can't realistically be surprised when they end up in the hands of people who shouldn't have them, like children."
But Melden says the blame doesn't just fall on leaders in Columbus or Washington; he said it also falls on whoever put those guns in the hands of teens.
"To all the gun-loving households out there, we need you to take them away from your children. We're not taking them away from you, we need you to take them away from those who shouldn't have them," Melden said.
And Melden said that despite being a local leader himself, he feels there's nothing he can do to stop this cycle.
"We've essentially punted public policy as a solution for our gun violence crisis in our country," Melden said. "We've kind of given up that that's ever going to be helpful, and when I talk like this it's because I feel like we've run out of options on that front. That's just the reality of it."
Melden said he doesn't feel that this is a security issue on the part of the mall either. He feels that between the amount of TPD patrols the mall has and its own security detail, Franklin Park Mall is properly equipped.
As for what he and his fellow city council members can do, Melden said all they can offer is what they already have been doing, encouraging safety, giving out free gun locks and offering safety programs from the city.
But at the end of the day, Melden said it will take leadership both in government and the community to steer the city, and the nation, away from this kind of violence.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video accompanying this story has been edited to remove images from a business that was not related to the shooting at Franklin Park Mall.