Campbell man slain a mile from anti-violence rally

Witnesses saw two vehicles and two men fleeing from the area.

VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — A Campbell man was found fatally wounded on the city’s North Side on Saturday afternoon.

The homicide took place around 3 p.m. — one hour after a Stopping the Violence Block Party had begun on Park Avenue, a little more than a mile southwest.

Police responded to 149 Halleck to find Sammuel Buxton, 38, of 631 Tenney Ave. in a fetal position in the side yard of the home, his body up against a fence. One of his boots and a window screen were found beneath the window of a vacant house next door at 153 Halleck.

Buxton was later pronounced dead at St. Elizabeth Health Center.

Witnesses told police they heard three to four shots fired in the area before they discovered Buxton’s body. Some described two cars leaving the area just after the shots were fired, a Youngstown police report said.

Witnesses said they saw a white car sitting in front of 153 Halleck with a man inside and also saw a Grand Am pull out of the driveway around the same time, police said.

Another witness saw two men run from the house at 153 Halleck.

Witnesses said the vehicles traveled east on Halleck, then north on Elm Street.

Buxton had a wound and blood on his lower back, police said.

The shooting took place about a mile northeast of Wick Park, where the Youngstown Stopping the Violence Committee’s fourth annual Back to School Community Block Party took place from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday. The event, which was sparsely attended Saturday, continues from noon to 9 p.m. today.

Police are calling Buxton’s death a homicide, the city’s 22nd this year. At this time last year, there were 23.