Crime Prevention Corner: Violence is on the rise as the election nears

There has been a lot of press lately about violence as the midterm election nears.
A part of the violence is the attack on the husband of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
If you think those problems can’t happen here, let me remind you of the problem we had right here in Lake Township two years ago – on the very day the President was in Toledo – when the man and woman came to the township, driving nine hours from New Jersey to “talk to the president.”
This incident is the perfect example of someone who saw something and said something. The alert employees at Get Go Trucking on Lemoyne Road reported to us they saw the two near the railroad tracks and near Lake Schools.
We immediately put the school on lockdown, not knowing how long that lockdown was going to last. It was the right thing to do.
All officers were sent to the area and an all-out search for the two took place. They were located and taken into custody, charged with making terrorist threats.
This is how it’s supposed to work. Private citizens who saw something unusual and reported it to law enforcement. As Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer said, everyone involved did their job that day, and everything came together.
I don’t think I have to tell anyone about the mass shootings that have occurred lately, especially the ones taking place at schools. In almost every case, the shooters have expressed their plans on social media, but very often the people who read the social media posts don’t take them seriously. These situations go unreported until it’s too late.
Yes, most times these online posts are just rantings, but do we want to turn a blind eye on a situation in which many lives could have been saved if it were just reported?
Take a lesson from those employees at Get Go Trucking – pick up the phone and report suspicious activity.
This article is a public service from the Community Policing/Crime Prevention Division of the Lake Township Police Department. Township residents may obtain further information on crime prevention and public safety topics by contacting Ron Craig, crime prevention specialist/community policing officer, at 419-481-6354.