No, homicides downtown don't occur every weekend

It didn't take long for some local media outlets to trot out the stories questioning the safety of downtown Cleveland following the two gruesome execution-style shootings early Sunday morning. It's worth noting that as of Wednesday afternoon, four suspects had been arrested and police were looking for a fifth.

At least three TV news outlets have gone to the "Are you safe?" story this week: 19 Action News, News Channel 5 and Fox 8. Channel 19 went so far as to post a poll, which at last count showed 86 percent of those who voted no longer feel safe going to downtown.

Look, for one year, I lived in Reserve Square (the building that houses the bar the two victims left). Admittedly, that park is uninviting at night, to say the least. But for every one-time, high-profile incident like this, there are countless days and nights during which NOTHING happens. I also lived for one year in the East Fourth neighborhood, and both are relatively safe because there's a high concentration of residents and those enjoying what downtown has to offer. People really can be smart and safe.

If there was a crime wave, or homicides downtown were becoming a trend, then by all means we should question the safety of the area. But to this point, that's not the case, so all stories like the three listed above do is play on the irrational fears of those who don't visit downtown. Stories like these serve little purpose. Also, I don't see any of these same media outlets going to any of the suburbs to ask residents there how safe they feel after homicides in those communities.

What happened to these two guys -- and their families -- is a tragedy. And it's a serious issue. I'm just disappointed in the local media outlets that take an incident like this and use it for fear-mongering. An ongoing story, the tragedy itself is a big enough news item -- it doesn't need the sensationalism that's following.