TOLEDO, Ohio — Violence involving teens has taken place multiple times in Toledo over the past two weeks.
A week before Christmas, 14-year-old Terrance Green was allegedly gunned down by two adults now arraigned on aggravated murder charges. Two days later, 16-year-old Eric Scott was shot and killed in west Toledo. On Tuesday, a 16-year-old accidentally fired his gun in the Franklin Park Mall, injuring himself and another teen.
Former Toledo mayor Michael Bell, who served from 2010-2014, said when it comes to teenagers with guns, he thinks teens are sometimes carrying them for their own safety.
"It's not to be on the attack as much as it is that, 'I don't want to be without a gun,'" Bell said. "But that we're at that part anywhere in our city is not a good thing."
He thinks finding the solution is everyone's concern.
"We're in an all-hands-on-deck type of situation where everybody inside the community, if they care about the quality of this community, have to get involved," Bell said.
Earl Mack, the president of the Toledo Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, is doing just that. The organization, which preserves the legacy of 19th-century United States regiments of Black soldiers, takes kids on outings and also talks with them in schools about multiple topics, including gun safety.
"We ask how many have ever touched a gun and almost all the hands in the room raised," Mack said of one of the talks the Buffalo Soldiers gave at a school. "How many have shot a gun, half the room's hands are raised."
Mack said if kids stay busy, it might help keep them away from violence. It's something the Buffalo Soldiers are trying to do in Toledo, but Mack says it starts at home.
"We do our part, but the busyness has to be at home with those parents, they have to keep kids busy," Mack said. "But not only do they have to keep kids busy, they need to know what their children are doing."
He said that may mean invading your kid's privacy to some degree.
"My nose is a big nose and my children will tell you this nose is always in their business," Mack said. "So, parents need to stick their nose into their kids' business."
He said all adults need to set an example for kids. But even then, he said the problem won't be a quick fix.
"We evolved to this," Mack said. "We didn't get to this position overnight, so it's going to take us a while to get out of it."
Bell agreed, saying the problem needs to be addressed now and there needs to be conversations in the community with people who deal with gun violence to find solutions.
"If we don't do that, we're going to run people away from our city," Bell said.
According to the Toledo Police Department, there have been 29% fewer people shot this year when compared to 2022. There have also been about 3% fewer overall shootings compared to last year.
According to data WTOL 11 tracks, there have been 33% fewer homicides this year compared to 2022. But, 31% more juveniles have been killed compared to last year.
Twelve of the 11 juveniles killed this year have died by shooting, with one, Jameson Turnbull, being shot by Toledo police after a robbery.