YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County Coroner’s Office has identified the man who died Monday of gunshot wounds in the 2400 block of Russell Avenue on the West Side as Brandon Leonelli, 24.

A 911 caller told a dispatcher that two shots were fired and a woman could be heard yelling. The Youngstown Police Department stated in a news release that officers were called to the location for gunfire and found the man with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where he died.

The homicide — the 25th of the year in the city — followed the discovery of a man’s body at 1 p.m. Friday in the 200 block of Hughes Street. The coroner’s office identified that victim Monday as Telly Smith, 45, who had been shot multiple times.

The body was found when Youngstown police detectives were called to the address for a welfare check. The death is being treated as a homicide.

The city had 28 homicides in all of 2020.

The last homicide in the city prior to Friday was the shooting death of a woman in her 20s at 3204 Southern Blvd. on the South Side Aug. 29. Police were alerted at 5:06 a.m. to gunfire in that area through its ShotSpotter system, which alerts police of gunfire on that side of town.

When ambulance personnel arrived, they declared the woman dead. The building where the woman was found appears to be both residential and commercial and is about a block north of St. Dominic Church, which is at the corner of East Lucius Avenue and Southern Boulevard.

The pace of homicides slowed around the time Mayor Jamael Tito Brown and police Chief Carl Davis announced an initiative Sept. 8 to reduce criminal activity and gun crime. The effort involves the Ohio State Highway Patrol and other agencies. Among other things, it increased the staffing available for more police patrols.

The Youngstown Police Department detective division, along with the Mahoning County Coroner’s office, are investigating. Tips leading to an arrest and/or prosecution are eligible for a monetary reward. The police department asks anyone with information or tips to call (330) 746-CLUE or (330) 746-8YPD. Tips may be left anonymously.

erunyan@vindy.com