The Youngstown Police Department is asking the public for any information that can help them solve two murders that occurred on the first two days of the New Year.

Just after midnight on New Year's Day, police investigating reports of gunfire found the body of a man lying along the roadside at Glenwood and Almyra Avenues.  Police believe the victim, identified as 30-year-old Van Lightning, was at a party then chased down by someone who shot him.

The following afternoon, officers called to a two-vehicle crash near Wirt Boulevard and Delaware Avenue discovered that one of the drivers had been shot.

Police believe the victim, 34-year-old John Pettiford, had been shot somewhere else before the crash. He died of his wounds at Mercy Hospital.

A third shooting took place at a party on Chestnut Hill on Youngstown's West Side early New Year's Day. That victim remains hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the back.

During a Monday news conference, Youngstown Police Captain Rod Foley said he didn't believe the shootings are related and there are no suspects.

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown also spoke at the news conference repeating twice that "Street justice is not the way to go".  Brown said he doesn't want 2021 to be a reflection of 2020.

Crimestoppers announced on its Facebook page that it is offering a $5,000 reward for a tip that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect, or suspects in the latest homicides in Youngstown. 

Anyone with information is being asked to contact Crimestoppers by calling 330-746-CLUE, or the Youngstown Police Department at 330-742-8929. Youngstown police also have a tip line 742-8-YPD

The police press conference came on the same day that Captain Foley and Lt. Michael Cox took over command of the Detective Division, Records, Family Services Unit, and Crime Lab.