Easton shooting illustrates the rise of younger perpetrators

by Tristan Stonerock

Staff Writer

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

No one should be shocked at the news of yet another shooting happening at Easton Town Center. It is no secret that there has been a drastic rise of gun violence happening around the U.S, and to residents of Columbus, Ohio, this rise feels paralyzing.

On Sunday August 27th, two 13 year olds were arrested after the fatal shooting of a 15 year old at Easton. In the article “Columbus police identify 15-year-old killed in Easton Town Center shooting” by Bethany Bruner, she talks to Dominic Jones, Carter’s football coach, and he says, “[Carter] always had a smile on his face and he'll be greatly missed by our community.’” While a fatal shooting at a public shopping center is no surprise, the age of the perpetrators is.

Shortly after the shots were fired, police officer Sgt. Joseph Albert found Ra’Shawyn Carter at approximately 6:15 p.m. and gave him CPR and other necessary medical treatment. Unfortunately, the victim died at around 6:50 p.m on Sunday.

One of the arrested teens were charged with a juvenile charge of murder, and the other with a juvenile charge of obstruction of justice. While these seem to be charges too light of a charge considering what the crimes were, Ohio laws do not allow 13 year olds to be tried as an adult no matter the crime.

Although one might think this shooting involving 13 year olds was a one time occurrence, it isn’t. Bruner writes, “In 2019, Juano Peyton was charged with juvenile murder after fatally shooting 14-year-old Jaykwon Sharp in an argument over a cellphone.” Juano Peyton was only 13.

In 2022, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners declared gun violence as a public health crisis. This year city leaders, including Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, assembled to address the alarming incidents of gun violence in Columbus. According to the article “City leaders discuss recent ‘alarming’ incidents of gun violence involving children” written by 10TV Staff, “Ginther added that police have recovered 1,000 guns since the beginning of April and are on pace to surpass last year’s number [of 3,300 firearms]”.

10TV also reports that from January to April of 2023, police officers confiscated 26 devices that can turn firearms into automatic weapons. In 2022 the number of those devices was only 17. Police have already recovered 9 more devices in 4 months than what they did in the whole of last year. 10TV Staff states, “Ginther encouraged the public to responsibly store their firearms, to not keep them in vehicles, and to keep [them] out of reach from children. '' When will people see this as an issue of life or death rather than an unalienable right?

Micah Gallebo (12) was at Easton on the day of the shooting. He described, “police helicopters, ambulances, and firetrucks… more swat went past [him]. It’s kinda sad that [gun violence has] been so normalized, [and he] generally feel[s] safe”. He also stated that he had to “run from the Cheesecake Factory to Trader Joe’s and when [he] was running [he] heard the gunshots.”

Another student Abigail Spencer (11), says she does not feel safe “because people can always claim self defense to recklessly act with guns”.

Should people be able to conceal and carry their guns? On one hand, yes, many people do carry these guns with them for protection, but if someone starts to threaten them, they can always use the weapon and claim that it was used in self defense.

Even worse, people could obtain these licenses and use them to cause harm. Although many places like Target and Starbucks have asked customers to not carry concealed firearms into their stores, store owners do state that they cannot stop anyone from doing so if they have a permit. There have been shootings at a Walmart in Hilliard where people are allowed to carry firearms in, so long as it is concealed.

Gun violence is an increasingly destructive problem that has affected our daily lives. Maybe people should stop focusing on what to do when it happens and think more about how to prevent it.

Police investigating the scene at Easton Town Center. Photo by 10TV.