Police probe shooting death of boy, 6
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YOUNGSTOWN -- A 6-year-old boy died after being found shot inside a home in the 500 block of Plum Street on the near West Side on Monday afternoon.
The Youngstown Police Department issued a news release Tuesday morning stating that police were called to the home at 4:09 p.m. Monday for a shooting.
When they arrived, they found the boy shot inside a bedroom and began life-saving measures until paramedics arrived. The child was transported to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the release states.
Youngstown police detectives and its crime scene unit were called to the scene to begin an investigation. Plum Street is on the west side of Oak Hill Cemetery.
Police did not say how the boy was shot, but they did "urge gun owners to safely and responsibly store their firearms and other weapons." Their release stated police "will be having a discussion with the public related to that in the near future."
The release added that "The safety and security of our children is of utmost importance to the Police Department and City of Youngstown."
Police gave no additional details about the shooting but that "the investigation is underway."
If this turns out to be a case of a child getting hold of a gun, it will be about the fourth one in recent years in the Youngstown area.
On Aug. 15, 2025, a 3-year-old boy living with his parents on Spring Street in Struthers died after getting hold of a firearm and shooting himself with it, according to a Struthers police captain.
The boy's father, Jacob A. Jackson, now 23, was indicted in January on involuntary manslaughter in the case, and the charges are still pending in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. His trial is set for Oct. 19.
A coroner's investigator said he spoke with Jacob Jackson, who said he set his handgun on the dresser so he could use the bathroom. The dresser was about waist-high. Jackson reported that the boy's mother was doing her hair in the bedroom and the boy was behind her. Jackson said he was using the bathroom with the door open when he heard a pop and saw Gionni fall to the floor.
On Nov. 11, 2023, Logan Taylor, 14, suffered a fatal gunshot wound in the home of a 14-year-old neighbor/friend on East Lucius Avenue on Youngstown's South Side. The neighbor was found delinquent -- the juvenile equivalent of guilty -- of reckless homicide with a three-year gun specification and could remain in a state juvenile facility until he turns 21. His case was heard in juvenile court.
On Oct. 22, 2023, a 7-year-old boy died after he and his brother got hold of a gun that his mother attempted to hide on the mantle at their house on Marmion Avenue on Youngstown's South Side. The boys were playing with the gun in a bedroom when it went off, striking the boy.
The boy's mother, Marquaysha Driver, was indicted on involuntary manslaughter and other charges, but a jury in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court found her not guilty of that and her other four charges.