UPDATE: Police ID victim of Tuesday's fatal shooting

YOUNGSTOWN — The man who was fatally shot Tuesday afternoon in a house at 1515 Kensington Ave. has been identified by city police as Andre Harrison, 34, who resided at that address.

Harrison, who was found lying dead on the living room floor, was shot in the neck.

That house was later destroyed in a 2:20 a.m. blaze, which Fire Battalion Chief Ron Russo said was deliberately set; and fire investigators were examining the rubble this morning.

The speed with which the Cape Cod house at 1515 Kensington Ave. on the city’s North Side burned indicated use of an accelerant, Russo said of the 2:20 a.m. blaze.

“From the time it started to the time we got there, I don’t think was very long. But it was totally engulfed, so I’m sure they enhanced it with something,” namely an accelerant, he said of the arsonist or arsonists.

Ordinarily, “You don’t get that kind of rapid burn in a house that’s constructed that well,” he said.

“We couldn’t get in it (the house). It was totally engulfed (in flames) when we got there,” he said. “There was fire coming out of every window and door when we got there,” he added.

Harrison was fatally shot at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Retaliation or the desire to destroy evidence are possible motives for setting the fire, in which the house burned to the ground, Russo said.

City fire department arson investigators will be digging through the rubble for evidence today, Russo said.

City Police Capt. Brad Blackburn, chief of detectives, would not reveal the type of gun used, how many shots were fired or how many wounds the victim suffered.

Police didn’t have any suspects as of Tuesday evening, but they were preparing to question two witnesses.

If the coroner rules the death a homicide, it would be the city’s 15th this year, the same as the number at this time last year.

Police and Mahoning County coroner’s office staff spent nearly two hours examining the interior and exterior of the two-story house before the body was removed.

Police examined security cameras on the outside of the house to see if they were operating and contained useful evidence.