Two men shot to death, one injured by gunfire

YOUNGSTOWN — Within six hours, gunfire claimed the lives of two men and injured a third.

The first to die was 27-year-old William Burr of East Midlothian Boulevard. He was hit multiple times in the 3200 block of South Avenue around 8 p.m. Sunday and collapsed behind Angelo’s Pizza Shop. He died later at St. Elizabeth Health Center.

Burr’s brother, Anthony Perez, 31, was shot to death Dec. 30, 2006, on Clearmount Avenue while they were detailing a car. Two men are charged with the crime and awaiting trial. Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives, said Burr was a witness to his brother’s homicide and detectives will look into that as a motive in his death.

About 2:15 a.m. today, Rodney M. Brown, 45, of Kendis Circle and Devon Avenue was shot in the Speed Check parking lot at 1050 McGuffey Road on the East Side. He died later at St. Elizabeth’s. At least two dozen casings were found in the lot.

At 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Jerald Perkins, 51 of Cornado Avenue was shot as he drove on Bennington Avenue on the East Side. He was in satisfactory condition at St. Elizabeth's.

Burr and Brown are the city’s 16th and 17th homicides of the year. There were 14 homicides at this time last year.