In slaying of robber, names still pending

An officer from Boardman and an officer from Youngstown fired at the gunman.
By DAVID WILKINSON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Authorities released no new information Sunday evening after two police officers shot and killed an armed robber earlier in the day.
The shooting occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday outside the Walgreens pharmacy at South Avenue and East Midlothian Boulevard.
The names of the robber and the officers were not released in a statement issued shortly before 3 p.m. by Boardman Police Chief Jeffrey A. Patterson.
The store is in Boardman, but an officer from Boardman and Youngstown each arrived about the same time after the robbery was reported to Boardman police. That was within three minutes of the robbery report, according to Patterson.
The officers saw an armed man wearing a black mask leaving the store with a hostage.
The robber "apparently grabbed an innocent bystander in the store to aid his escape," Patterson said.
The hostage broke away, and the armed man turned to "engage" the officers, according to the statement.
Both fired at robber
Both officers fired, and the suspect died at the scene. It was not clear if the robber was hit by shots from both officers. No one else was injured.
The statement gave no information on the hostage.
The officers were to have been interviewed Sunday afternoon. The statement said their identities were not being released "at this time."
Boardman and Youngstown detectives, crime scene-technicians and internal affairs teams were called to the scene. The two police departments will conduct a joint investigation, Patterson said.
The statement said that after the deceased suspect is identified and notification made to relatives, more information would be released.
Patterson, Youngstown Police Department spokesman Detective Sgt. Rick Alli and the Mahoning County Coroner's Office did not return calls Sunday seeking more information.