YOUNGSTOWN — Robbery may have been the motive behind a triple homicide on the city’s South Side, police said.

The late Thursday shooting at 571 W. Delason Ave. remains under investigation, said police Capt. Brad Blackburn, chief of detectives.

While police don’t know if anything was taken from the three victims, Blackburn said robbery could have been the reason for the shootings.

Police were called to the house about 11:15 p.m. Thursday after a person went there and found a body inside the doorway, Blackburn said.

That person called 911 and officers who responded to the West Delason Avenue home found one body in the living room and another in the kitchen, Blackburn said.

Two weapons were used to kill the three men “leaving you to believe there were multiple shooters,” Blackburn said. “But it’s not out of the realm to have a person with multiple guns.”

The three victims are men in their late 30s to early 40s. Police “believe we have the names of the three victims,” but are waiting for confirmation from the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office, he said.

While a neighbor heard gunshots around 8 p.m., Blackburn said at least one victim was in communication with a family member around 10 p.m.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Youngstown police at 330-742-8911 or Crime Stoppers at 330-746-CLUE.

Thursday’s killings came less than two days after the city’s 17th apparent homicide, the shooting death of Lavante Perry, 24, at a home on Woodcrest Avenue on the East Side. That shooting was reported at about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday.

“There is no indication (the triple homicide) is related to the other homicide,” Blackburn said.

Before Perry’s death, the city had only one homicide in nearly four months — the shooting death of Deion Harris, 25, in a backyard on Hilton Avenue Oct. 16. The one before that was Aug. 22 when Damon Sims, 30, was found outside of his home on West Marion Avenue with gunshot wounds and later died.

Youngstown had 26 homicides in 2018.