Afternoon shootout leaves 2 men injured

staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — Two men were injured in a shootout near the 200 block of East Judson Avenue about 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Sherrick Jackson was shot in the neck while in the front yard of 264 E. Judson. John Mitchell was shot in his left leg while in a sport- utility vehicle in the driveway of the same address, a police report said.

At the time the report was filed, both Jackson and Mitchell were in stable condition. Their ages were not noted.

A woman who lives at the address told officers that her house was the target of the gunfire and the shooting is gang-related, the report said.

Several shots were fired at the house from two vehicles. When officers arrived, they found a maroon 1998 Buick in the street with all four doors open and keys in the ignition.

The woman told officers the other vehicle, a red Pontiac Bonneville, fled the area, and the occupants of the Buick fled on foot.

While officers were at the site, Wayne Kerns, 19, of Volney Road was approached by about 20 people from East Judson who were calling him one of the shooters.

Kerns told officers that a man known to him as “Q” asked him for a ride and then directed Kerns to East Judson. Then “Q” and two other men began shooting at 264 E. Judson, and when people started firing back, Kerns ran from the car, the report said.

Officers put Kerns in the car for his safety. Kerns was later questioned by detectives and charged with two counts of felonious assault, the report said.