UPDATE: Fire chief believes firefighters targeted in shooting of Ohio firefighter
New details & radio traffic from shooting
Youngstown police confirmed that a Youngstown firefighter was shot Monday after responding to a fire.
It began when crews were called about 10 p.m. to a house fire at Halleck and Elm streets.
As crews were leaving the scene around 11:30 p.m., shots were fired and bullets came through the fire truck, hitting a firefighter in the leg.
Police say 46-year-old Paul Lutton was shot in the leg while driving fire engine number 7 on Halleck Street as it returned from a fire on Elm Street late Monday.
Lutton was taken to St. Elizabeth Hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg that police say is not life-threatening.
Two bullets struck the fire engine, entering the passenger compartment according to police.
The firemen on the truck say the believe they were shot by someone they could see standing in a driveway as they drove by.
Police searched for the shooter but could not find him.
Fire Chief John O’Neill told 21-WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s news partner, that city police will accompany the fire department on calls until whomever shot the firefighter Monday night is captured.
A Mercedes SUV was seen in the area and police are actively looking for that vehicle, WFMJ reported.
