INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears is placing blame for rising youth violence on Indiana’s gun laws, saying recent legislation is helping put deadly weapons in the hands of children.

Mears stepped out of a 9 a.m. hearing Friday to address the media following an initial hearing for charges filed against 19-year-old Anthony Bean, who was arrested in connection to a shooting that killed two people, including a 12-year-old boy, last weekend.

“When you encourage everyone to have a gun, when you pass permitless carry, it should come as no surprise to anyone that those guns are gonna end up in the hands of kids,” Mears said. “And when you have no private regulation of gun sales, it should come as no surprise that those guns are gonna end up in the hands of kids.”

Mears pointed to a disturbing trend in Marion County: murders tied to illegal gun deals involving teenagers.

“If you don’t believe how serious of a problem this is and how deadly of a problem this is in our community, you can look at any one of the number of cases that are currently pending in Marion County where we have charged someone with murder in a gun deal gone bad,” he said. “You will see that there’s a number of individuals who’ve been convicted of murder, and the circumstances is a gun deal gone bad involving kids less than 18 years of age.”

The prosecutor says the problem goes beyond bad actors. He says when people are encouraged to carry guns with no training or required knowledge, it leads to unintentional consequences.

“When you encourage everybody to have a gun and there’s no obligation that they know anything about how that device works or functions, you’re going to see a number of accidental shootings, which is something we’re also dealing with here in Marion County, that directly impacts young people in this city,” Mears said.

Standing just outside the courtroom, Mears said his focus remains on prevention and accountability.

“We’re standing outside of a courtroom right now because we just charged an individual,” he said. “And the allegation is that that individual [Bean] killed two people, including a 12-year-old. And that’s where our energy and our focus is going to be.”

He also responded to recent criticism from state leaders, including Indiana’s governor.

“I view everything through the prism of ‘Can we prevent crime and can we solve crime?’” Mears said. “And if the governor has suggestions on how that can be done here in Marion County, we’re happy to have that conversation. But also there’s a lot that he can do with the agencies that he is in charge of that interact daily with kids, not only in Marion County but around the state, where he could have a tremendous impact.”

Gov. Mike Braun (R) on Wednesday warned of possible state intervention if recent gun violence in Indianapolis becomes a long-term trend.

Braun’s comments came ahead of what’s expected to be a busy weekend for law enforcement with the WNBA All-Star Game and Indiana Black Expo.

For the full video of Mears’ comments and answers to press questions, see the the video below.

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