Two men claim to have been shot at by each other
YOUNGSTOWN
The alleged theft of sound equipment from a van has led two men to file separate police reports, each claiming to have been shot at by the other.
A 27-year-old Cameron Avenue man told police he discovered someone had broken into his 1993 Mercury van early Wednesday morning and taken music equipment installed in the vehicle. The South Side man told police he believed the thief was a man with whom he is familiar who is known to steal music equipment from cars.
The reported theft victim said he ultimately found his music equipment in the rear seat of a stolen car left abandoned in the city. He told officers he is sure the car also had been stolen by the man believed to have stolen his music equipment.
The reported theft victim told police he went to the Idlewood Avenue area at 4:15 a.m. Wednesday to confront the man he believed to be responsible for the theft but was met by gunfire.
He said the man appeared “out of nowhere” riding a small motorcycle and began firing at him and his two friends with two handguns.
The reported theft victim said he later called his cellphone, which also was taken during the van break-in, and the man who had shot at him answered the call saying he would kill him if he returned to the Idlewood Avenue area.
The 18-year-old man accused of breaking into the van, stealing the equipment and shooting at the van’s owner also filed a police report claiming the van owner shot at him.
The man told police he was leaving his Idlewood Avenue home riding his motorcycle at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday when he noticed the man accusing him of breaking into the van. He said he decided to turn around and head home, but the man began shooting at him.
The 18-year-old told police he ran toward his home trying to escape the gunfire while yelling for help from his family. He escaped without injury but told police he has heard that the man accusing him of the theft has vowed to kill him.
Police did discover two bullet holes in the Idlewood Avenue home.
Neither man involved in the incident has been arrested.