Six-year-old victim of shooting at Youngstown home
YOUNGSTOWN - Youngstown police rushed a six-year-old shooting victim to a hospital in their cruiser early Wednesday.
Officers were sent out after midnight after the city’s Shotspotter system detected gunshots in the 300 block of East Avondale Avenue ad found the wounded six-year-old boy in the living room of the South Side home.
Police performed first aid and decided not to wait for an ambulance, so took the child to Mercy Hospital, where he was last listed in guarded condition.
21 News has learned that the child was shot in the shoulder or back.
According to police, “numerous” shell casings were found collected from outside the home.
Investigators are calling the shooting a “targeted incident” where the boy ended up being the victim.
Lately, violence in the city has seemingly been down. Youngstown Police Captain Jason Simon says it's because of extra patrols and safety partnerships, but gun violence rears it's head over and over because the root of the issue still remains.
"The biggest drivers of crime are poverty and a lack of education," Simon said.
Simon believes it's going to take multiple approaches to break through those barriers.
"It's not only police presence but it's community support and working with our partners to keep crime off the streets," said Simon. "Not just putting people in jail but making sure people are employed and are resolving their conflicts in ways other than shooting at houses," he said.
"There was an innocent child shot and this is something the police department and the citizens of Youngstown should never tolerate," said Carl Davis, Youngstown's Police Chief during Wednesday's city council meeting. Davis said adding a police substation on the city's south side, which council approved Wednesday, provides an increased police precense, 'which is something we embrace," Davis added.
Detectives spoke to family members and witnesses, saying they would continue working to find out who fired the shots.
Right now there is no one in custody, but police are following leads.
They urge anyone who knows about the shooting to call Crime Stoppers at 330-746-CLUE or 330-746-8YPD.
