Youngstown police interview this unidentified woman near the home in the 1200 block of Salt Springs Road where a woman in her 40s died Tuesday morning; a man in his late 20s there was sent to the hospital and died later in the afternoon. The home is at right, behind the brick building to the left. Staff photo / Ed Runyan

YOUNGSTOWN — A woman in her late 40s and a man in his late 20s are dead after gunfire Tuesday at a home in the 1200 block of Salt Springs Road on the West Side.

Lt. Brian Butler of the Youngstown Police Department said the 10:12 a.m. episode appears to be domestic-related, and it is not known whether the woman’s death was from a gun or something else. Her death is being investigated as a homicide, until there is evidence that it is something else, Butler said.

The man was taken in critical condition to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital by ambulance. The Youngstown Police Department on Tuesday evening confirmed he had died.

A neighbor reported hearing a person in the street near the home yelling, “They shot my brother. Call an ambulance.”

A short time before that, the neighbor heard a “pop.”

At around that time, a silver sport utility vehicle pulled out of the parking area near the home, going really fast, the neighbor said.

Police later advised they are looking for a silver or gray Kia Sportage with the license plate number JLU3363.

When asked about the amount of violence being investigated in Youngstown right now, Butler said: “The detectives definitely have a heavy workload right now, as everybody does in law enforcement across the nation, and we are seeing that here locally as well.”

TREND CONTINUES

Eight people were shot last Wednesday in Youngstown, including a 10-year-old girl shot to death on Samuel Avenue on the South Side and a man in a pickup truck a short distance away.

The home police converged on Tuesday is behind a former commercial building that was modified into apartments. The home used to be a garage, a neighbor said. It is between two commercial buildings — a furniture repair shop and an equipment-repair shop.

It is not far from the Torch Club, a tavern where two people were shot to death early May 23 and a third person died a few blocks away in a crash. No one has been charged in those killings.

There also is another bar not far from the home where the woman died. A neighbor said the bar adds to a lot of “loud and obnoxious behavior” that takes place in the neighborhood.

HOME HISTORY

The home was the site of an earlier violent episode. It involved Ronald Washington, then 60, who injured the hand of his home health aide May 1, 2017, by swinging scissors in her direction, causing her to get a cut on her hand while defending herself.

Washington told police he had been having a relationship with the aide and became angry when he learned she had a boyfriend, attacking her with scissors and nunchucks.

Washington was convicted of aggravated assault and was sentenced to two years of probation in January 2018.

If Tuesday’s deaths are ruled homicides, they will be the 21st and 22nd in the city so far this year. The city had 28 homicides during all of 2020.

Tips leading to an arrest and prosecution of the crimes committed Tuesday are eligible for a monetary reward. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 330-746-CLUE or the Youngstown Police Department at 330-742-8YPD. Tips may be left anonymously.

erunyan@vindy.com