They Came to Celebrate the Old West End Festival. Twelve People Left on Stretchers.

A love letter to Toledo, a reality check for our community, and a call to action

I love my city.

I want to start there, because everything I'm about to say comes from that place. Toledo is home. It's family cookouts and summer camps. It's block parties and nonprofits that kept kids off the street. It's community pools and church festivals and knowing your neighbors by name. It is my home and if your from here it's yours too.

And if you grew up on the North side or had people from over there you already know what the Old West End Festival meant when summer came around.

OWE is the signal. The unofficial announcement that summer had officially arrived.

Me and my cousins would walk down a few blocks, hit the vendors, grab an elephant ear and a lemonade. Stop by Thomas Temple for a soft serve strawberry and lemon ice cream swirl, and maybe a polish sausage on the way back because my granny always wanted something on the way back. My dad had a vendor table out there one year. We'd walk the whole stretch, checking everything out, and then make our way over to Saint Martin DePorres festival and do it all over again the next day, That was the routine for the first weekend in June. That is our summer.

We had fights. Issues. It wasn't always perfect. But it was always contained  because the police presence was heavy and visible, and people knew where the line was. That's why what happened Saturday shook me so differently than a lot of things I've seen.

What Happened At the Old West End Festival

Saturday, June 7, 2026. Just after 5:30 PM. Hundreds of people at the Old West End Festival families, kids, vendors, neighbors when at least two people decided their beef was more important than every single person around them.

They started shooting at each other.

Twelve people got hit. Victims ranged in age from 14 to 61. Two were critically injured. The shooters? Still out there. No arrests. No suspects. Just twelve people who came out to celebrate their city and went home or to the hospital with trauma they didn't ask for.

Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said officers were already on the scene in heavy numbers, with mobile cameras feeding into the city's real-time crime center. They responded quickly. They secured the scene. And still twelve people were injured.

The rest of the festival was canceled Sunday. Because it had to be.

This One Hits Differently For Me

I need to be honest with you, because that's the only way I know how to do this.

Twenty years ago, I was shot.

Being a victim of gun violence changes you in ways people don't always see. I don't go out like I used to. I am hyperaware of my environment, Always. Before I go anywhere, I'm already asking: what's the crowd going to look like? Who's going to be there? Is it the type of event where something could pop off? If I don't like the answers, I don't go. That's not fear exactly. That's the survival instinct that gets wired into you when you've already been on the wrong end of somebody else's decision.

The Old West End Festival has always one of the safe community lead ones. Heavy police presence. Family event. Historic neighborhood. The kind of place where you could breathe a little easier. But know it's always a fight or a drunk being a bit over the top, but never nothing like this ever.

But know that's changed, big time.

I am praying for everyone who was hurt Saturday. I mean that from my whole heart. And I'm asking if you were there and you witnessed it, please find someone to talk to. A counselor, a trusted person, someone. Trauma doesn't just go away because you walked away. It stays in your body. Please don't try to carry it alone.

Now Let's Talk About the Real Problem

Because I'm not going to sit here and just be sad. I'm also pissed off. And I think you should be too.

These weren't strangers who rolled into our city. This wasn't random. Two people who had beef with each other decided to handle it in the middle of a community festival with children around, with families around, with people who just came out to enjoy a Saturday. And twelve innocent people paid for it.

We are failing the youth. Full stop. Period.

The issue starts at home. I'm going to say what a lot of people are thinking but won't say out loud: parents are not parenting. Some of y'all want to be your kid's best friend instead of their parent. You're not holding them accountable for how they move, how they talk to adults, what they're doing in the streets. And when somebody else tries to check your child, you want to run up on them instead of checking your own kid first.

We've got 13 and 14-year-olds out here carrying guns. Disrespecting adults with no consequence. And their parents or guardian either don't know where they are or don't care enough to find out. Then the moment law enforcement gets involved the moment something goes wrong those same parents are on the news crying. But where were you before it got to that point?

I'm not saying this to be harsh. I'm saying this because I love this city and I love these kids and they deserve better guidance and things to keep them focus on their futures.

This isn't just a gun problem. It's a mental health problem. It's a poverty problem. It's a community investment problem. We have kids who don't have anything to do, nowhere to go, and no one modeling what it looks like to handle conflict without violence. And then we're surprised when this happens.

We shouldn't be surprised. We should be accountable.

What the Officials Said

Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates said something that stuck with me: "This is personal. This is my home. These are my friends and neighbors. It is not OK."

That's the energy we need. Not just in a statement in action.

Mayor Kapszukiewicz said Toledo is resilient and will emerge stronger. I believe that. But resilience without change is just surviving. We've been surviving. It's time to actually fix something.

Former Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson was at the parade that morning posted about Scott High School's marching band closing out the parade in the rain. That's the Toledo I know. The Scott High Bulldog spirit showing up even when it's raining. That image and what happened hours later in the same neighborhood on the same day shouldn't be able to coexist. But they did.

Congresswoman Kaptur called it senseless gun violence. Governor DeWine called it unacceptable.

We all agree it's unacceptable. So now what?

Here's What We're Going to Do About It

Words and press conferences aren't enough. Toledo needs a real plan, and it starts with all of us not just the elected officials.

Here's where I'm starting: Obsidian People| From Guns to Brushes  my father's nonprofit founded in 1994, always a concept that we want to get going ,but will now be part of this response. The mission has always been about redirecting young people, giving them something constructive to pour into, and keeping them connected to community in a way that doesn't end in a jail cell or a graveyard. This moment is exactly why that work exists.

We want to work to bring organizations together around this to pull this all together. If you run a nonprofit, a youth program, a mentorship initiative, a mental health resource I want to connect. This has to be a community effort. No one organization can do this alone, and no press conference is going to save these kids. People will.

Here's what I'm asking from you right now:

If you witnessed the shooting: Talk to someone. And if you have footage or information, please contact Toledo Police. The shooters are still out there.

If you're a parent: Check in with your kids. Not just where they are but who they are with, what's going on with them, what they're feeling and what they're doing when you're not watching.

If you want to be part of the solution: Follow Obsidian People. Share this post. Show up when community meetings happen. Don't let this be another tragedy Toledo mourns for a week and then forgets.

If you're an elected official reading this: We need more than statements. We need coordinated investment in youth programs. We need mental health resources that are actually accessible. We need parents held accountable when their children commit crimes. We need the community at the table, not just the departments.

Toledo, I Still Love You

I still love my city. I love the elephant ears the cool vendors with amazing crafts. I love Scott High's band marching through the rain because the show must go on. I love the front porches and the church festivals and the people who've poured decades into this community because they believed it was worth fighting for.

This is still worth fighting for.

But we have to actually fight. Not just react. Not just grieve. Not just post.

Fight.

Somebody's kid is out there right now who hasn't made the decision that changes their life yet. And we still have a chance to reach them. Let's not waste it.

— Keyanna Harper

To connect with Obsidian People:From Guns to Brushes or learn about community efforts in Toledo, Contact me @ Info@obsidianpeople.

Sources: WTOL 11, NPR, CBS News, CNN, NBC News, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur's office, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, Former Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson (Facebook)