Police say rifle rounds used in I-680 murder

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Police say evidence at the scene is what led them to believe quickly Tuesday that the shooting death of a man on Interstate 680 northbound in afternoon rush hour traffic was a targeted killing.

The man, who was in his 20s, was killed about 4 p.m. after someone in a passing car fired several shots at an SUV he was driving between the Glenwood Avenue and Salt Springs Road exits.

The SUV crashed into a concrete barrier in the middle of the freeway. The driver of the SUV, who was the only person in the vehicle, was killed. His name is expected to be released later by the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office.

Lt. Mohammad Awad of the Detective Bureau said police knew right away that the shooting was not random because of the pattern of bullet casings officers found on the interstate and where they were grouped in relation to the SUV.

Awad said police recovered casings from a semiautomatic rifle on the freeway. He said he believes whoever was responsible for the killing followed the SUV for some time before the shots were fired.

Awad said that the scene was complicated to process. It stretched for a half mile and extra crime scene personnel had to be called out to help collect evidence. The freeway was closed for more than an hour in the northbound lanes between South Avenue and Belle Vista Avenue before detectives were done.

Extra detectives also had to be called out so they could look for evidence and witnesses in the southbound lanes of the freeway, and the patrol division was tied up because officers were needed to block traffic to the freeway.

Detectives investigated a similar homicide Jan. 5, 2023 , when a man and his girlfriend were shot and killed in the same area by someone in another vehicle. That killing happened late at night, however, and not during afternoon rush hour traffic.

Police have yet to make an arrest in the 2023 case, but they did find the vehicle they believe was used by the shooters.

Youngstown now has 15 homicides for the year. Last year, the city had 22 homicides. There were eight homicides at this point last year.

Detectives are asking if anyone saw anything in connection to the I-680 shooting to call the Youngstown Police Detective Bureau at 330-742-8911.

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