TOLEDO, Ohio — In 2023, Toledo has seen a trend in teen victims of violence with seven fatal instances since January.
All seven deaths involved guns. DeAsia Green, 15; Anthony Krug-Overton, 16; Donald Hogan, 15; Jaden Skaggs, 15; Jameson Turnbull, 16; Justyce Williams, 16; and Mark Wortham, 17, were victims of shootings.
Those deaths have weighed heavily on many in the Toledo area, including three musicians. The three are also fathers and are using their voices to call for change. Together, they wrote a song called "Broken Glass."
Since its release, the song has been shared more than a thousand times. The artists said it shows that violence is still a topic important to the community.
A community that they believe makes all the difference.
"If we had better leaders and father figures, then we probably wouldn't have gone down some of the roads that we have," Clarence Mcneal said.
Mcneal is a father, foster parent and musician. He said on a normal day, he's fixing meals and playing with his children. But after he noticed more gun violence against children in Toledo, he couldn't ignore the news and he wants to be a part of the solution.
"The older guys should take more responsibility," Mcneal said. "If you are in the neighborhood and you see these young guys all the time and you got a platform or you're somebody that they look up to, it should be your ethical duty to say 'hey, stop, don't do that.'"
Mcneal, who performs under the name Mack90, said he got help from two other Toledo fathers, Lane Ridley and Clemmye Bragg, and together they decided to create a call to action.
"People speak on it for like that week and then it dies down. I think it needs to be addressed daily," Ridley said. "If you see something that can be corrected, correct it, you know. One step at a time."
The fathers said the music can keep these conversations alive along with the memory of those children lost to gun violence.
"For everybody who likes that song, it has 1,300 shares on Facebook in a day and a half," Bragg said. "All those people can help."
Mcneal believes children in Toledo are ambitious, but some are going in the wrong direction. He said all fathers in the Glass City can help put the broken pieces back together.
"We got to look at the future for these kids and it takes more than just the police or the news or us three," Mcneal said. "We need everybody to put their heads together. It takes a village to raise a child."
The music video shows the faces of 20 different victims of violence.
Mcneal said those kids should still be here.
Since 2020, around 35 children have been killed in Toledo.
If you have any information that may help police regarding crime in Toledo, call or text Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111. You can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward if your information leads to an arrest.