The violence started around 11:30 Wednesday night. Police were called to a home on Cromwell on the city's east side. On arrival, they found one man shot in the face who was leaving the scene to drive himself to the hospital. Inside the house, they found 36-year-old Sterling Floyd, dead from his wounds.
Less than two hours later, another call, this one near the corner of South and Boston on the south side. Detectives found 38-year-old Terrance Crum -- thinking his attacker had chased him down the street before killing him.
Despite these incidents, as well as another shooting earlier this week, Captain Ken Centerame says he's not seeing an upward trend in violence. He says in the last six weeks, "we haven't had one homicide."
And while the city's murder rate is slightly behind last year's for the same period, we've learned the numbers of felonious assaults reported so far this year is up over last year, as are the numbers of aggravated robberies and all reported burglaries in the city. Chief Jimmy Hughes insists Youngstown's problems are not unique but adds, "I know no one wants to hear that when there's a life taken."
The Chief points to the recent outbreak of violence in the city of Chicago over the 4th of July weekend, where 60 people were shot in different incidents, ten of them killed. And he continues to point to the city's murder rate, which as we mentioned, is down from last year at this time, as well as the year before that.
However, that may be small consolation for families of the most recent victims or the people who live in their neighborhoods.
