East Side resident is shot in the back

YOUNGSTOWN -- A 19-year-old East Side man was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center after being shot once in the upper left back Wednesday afternoon in a matter that may be related to a shooting Tuesday, police reports show.
George Washington of Atkinson Avenue was shot with a handgun outside his residence at 3:15 p.m., police said. Washington was wearing body armor and the bullet only partially entered his back, police added.
Witnesses told police the gunman drove his car by the house several times before stopping where Washington was working on his car. He accused Washington of robbing him Tuesday night.
When Washington denied it, the gunman got of his vehicle and fired several shots as Washington ran toward his home. Police recovered two spent casings outside Washington's residence and saw bullet holes in the living room door and carpet.
Washington said he had heard that his assailant had been robbed by several men at 1225 Valley St. Tuesday night and that Benjamin Reynolds, 17, of Quinn Street, had been shot at about 5:45 p.m. at a North Side home where he was visiting.
Reynolds was shot eight times and remained in critical condition at St. Elizabeth this morning.
Washington's shooting marked the third in the city in three days. On Monday, Jermaine Tillis, 28, of North Lane Avenue, suffered a gunshot wound to the back. He was found lying outside his East Side house at about 5:40 p.m. He was in critical condition at St. Elizabeth early today.