YOUNGSTOWN — Raymond K. Butler Jr., 28, was shot to death early Sunday in a vehicle he was driving at the intersection of Gibson Street and Poland Avenues just southeast of downtown.

Youngstown police were dispatched to the location at 3:58 a.m. for reports of a person shot inside a vehicle and found Butler. They, along with emergency medical personnel, attempted life saving measures, but Butler was pronounced dead at the scene, a Youngstown police press release states.

Youngstown police detectives, Crime Scene Unit investigators and Mahoning County Coroner’s Office personnel, were summoned to collect evidence, interview witnesses and continue the investigation, the release states. No arrests have been made.

“There were numerous people in the area at the time this incident occurred, and someone may have seen or heard something that could further this case and help to bring justice to Raymond Butler and some closure to his family,” the release states.

The police department asks that anyone with information contact the YPD Detective Division or call Crime Stoppers with any information anyone has.

Tips leading to an arrest and/or prosecution are eligible for a monetary reward, the press release states.Call Crime Stoppers at 330-746-2583 or 330-742-8973 with information or tips, which may be left anonymously, the release states.

Butler’s death is the seventh homicide of the year in Youngstown.

EARLIER HOMICIDE

The homicide before this was the 8 p.m. April 4 stabbing death of Nestor Diaz, 37, in the 3700 block of Tippecanoe Road in the Cornersburg area of Youngstown’s West Side.

Camilo Sotolongo-Barreto, 38, was arraigned Friday in Youngstown Municipal Court on a murder charge in the case after being brought back to Youngstown Thursday from the Allegheny County, Pa., jail in Pittsburgh.

An April Youngstown police press release stated that “Camilo Barreto” was the suspect in the stabbing death of Diaz and that Barreto was in the Allegheny County jail.

Youngstown police have said that they were called to Tippecanoe Road at about 8 p.m. for a stabbing and found Diaz with a stab wound to the abdomen. Officers and ambulance personnel administered aid, but Diaz was pronounced dead. Officers said they learned that the stabbing resulted from a dispute over property, according to the press release.

BOY’S DEATH

On April 14, Keilub Paul, 3, was shot to death in his home on Pointview Avenue on the South Side at about 5 p.m. He died later at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital. Pointview Avenue is two blocks north of Midlothian Boulevard, east of Interstate 680.

The investigation into the death included officers going to the house next door to where the boy was killed to serve a search warrant and two men being handcuffed and placed in a cruiser while police searched the home.

But so far, police have not called the boy’s death a homicide.