TOLEDO, Ohio — On Monday, a 16-year-old accidentally discharged a firearm inside the Franklin Park Mall, injuring himself and another teenager and leading to a chaotic scene as crowds made their way to the exits.
Why do juveniles feel like they need to carry a gun at all?
Minister and youth advocate Tony Johnson, who works with troubled kids in Toledo, says the issues in their lives start at a young age, and by the time the kids are teenagers, the damage is already done.
"I work in an elementary school where these kids really are having sex and smoking weed at a young age," Johnson said. "These aren't just the seventh and eighth graders, these are the fifth and sixth graders. I think to these parents, wow, you're really smoking with your kid and treating them like a friend?"
Johnson says parents often set a bad example.
"Parents are displaying all the wrong things," he said. "You're going in and out of the club, you're smoking or drinking in front of your kid and you're expecting them to turn out to be great."
What is equally as bad is when parents are not present at all. Johnson says a lack of guidance, no sense of community and strong feelings of rejection is a recipe for disaster.
"I've witnessed this first hand," he said. "Gangs are about belonging, and if you don't feel like you belong at home, what else are you going to do but look for it somewhere else?"
Johnson said in a gang, carrying a gun gives you a sense of community and reputation, giving kids a feeling of being part of something bigger than themselves. They might not see their actions as dangerous.
"It's a game and it's a joke because that's what we've allowed them to see," he said.
So, carrying a gun around inside a mall, for instance, just becomes a normal part of life.
Johnson says he's seen it happen to roughly 25% of all the kids he's worked with over the years. But, he still sees hope if parents begin taking a more active role in raising their children and stop treating them like friends.
"A lot of kids would rather have discipline, have a mom or dad that's involved, but we're not giving them that," he said.
Youth violence remains an incredibly serious issue in the U.S. According to the CDC, homicide is the third leading cause of death for people ages 10-24 and the No. 1 cause of death for non-Hispanic Black or African American youth.
Eleven teenagers have been killed in homicides so far this year, with two in December.
Johnson believes better parenting and two parents in the home could have a massive effect on that data.