Pandemic pressure could be leading to a rise in violent crime

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Following two mass shootings within days of each other in the nation and two violent road rage incidences in Northwest Ohio just this week... Is life really more dangerous these days?

Wednesday night two cars on Monroe Street near Franklin Park Mall opened fire at one another after an altercation on the road.

“To us it looked like road rage, completely road rage,” said eyewitness Jeremy Fetters. “They just started shooting at one another.”

According to a police report, no one was injured in the shootout which shut down Monroe Street for about an hour.

“It was very busy,” said Fetters. “There were a lot of people. A lot of people really could have been hurt.”

But there was a different outcome Friday morning in Napoleon, after yet another case of road rage. Heated tempers behind the wheel ended when two cars slammed into one another in a Walmart parking lot.

“After the vehicles ran into each other and stopped one subject got out and started to assault the other subject,” said Napoleon Police Department Lieutenant Edward Legg.

According to police the individuals involved then got out of their vehicles where a stabbing then took place. The incident sent three people in total to the hospital.

Is the world getting more violent? Law enforcement expert Timothy Dimoff thinks it might be. Dimoff, who is considered one of the nation’s leading authorities in high-risk workplace and human resource issues, theorizes an uptick in aggression comes as a result of the pandemic.

“You have to think about what’s conspired in the last 12 months,” said Timothy Dimoff. “A lot of people were confined to their homes, restricted from the outside world.. limited with socializing, they may have entered a bad spot. Confining human beings is not healthy both physically, mentally, and emotionally.”

Dimoff believes other factors such as political unrest and the rise in social movements within the last year have divided our nation, creating opportunities for violence. He says when the world feels out of control, having a plan may help.

“The only way to feel better and safer unfortunately when we leave our homes is we have to start preparing and thinking about things that could happen,” said Dimoff. “We need to have a mental game plan in our heads already formulated.”

Experts say if you find yourself in a potential road rage situation, give the aggressive driver a wide berth and if the situation turns dangerous, call 911 rather than taking matters into your own hands.