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Youngstown firefighter recovering after shooting

YOUNGSTOWN — A city firefighter, shot while driving a firetruck away from a Monday night house blaze he helped extinguish, is looking forward to going home, fire Chief John O’Neill said Tuesday afternoon.

Fire Lt. Paul Lutton was waiting Tuesday to hear whether he could be released from St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital or would have to undergo surgery to remove a bullet from his leg. O’Neill said Lutton had a restless night after the shooting, but by Tuesday was resting comfortably and appeared to be in good spirits.

Lutton slowly drove from the fire scene and was a half a block away, pulling onto Halleck Street from Elm Street about 11:30 p.m. Monday, when shots were fired and a bullet went through the front door of the vehicle and hit him in the leg, O’Neill said.

Another bullet went through the rear door, almost hitting firefighter Dwyain Montgomery as it went through his turnout gear, nearly hitting his chest, O’Neill said.

Firefighters were called about 9 p.m. to a vacant house at Halleck and Elm streets, the scene of a previous arson in June.

O’Neill, who was not at the scene, but was told that a man kept driving by, yelling at firefighters and eventually drove over their hoses. Firefighters recorded the license plate number and called police, but the man drove away and was being sought.

O’Neill said the question is whether the person who committed arson and impeded firefighters is also the person who fired the shots.

Youngstown police Lt. Douglas Bobovnyik said, “It does not appear firemen were purposely targeted. I believe the person intentionally fired on firefighters. The motive is not clear.”

But he said, “We don’t think he set the house fire to lure firefighters there and shoot them.”

O’Neill said until a suspect is in custody, police will automatically be dispatched to any fire calls.

“We want to know why he did it,” O’Neill said. “It was not a stray bullet. As far as we are concerned, he did this on purpose. We want to know what his beef was with us.”

Police were still at the fire scene gathering information about the interfering driver when the shots were fired, O’Neill said.

“They were seconds away from us. They heard the gunfire,” he said.

O’Neill said investigators were at the fire scene Tuesday morning, sifting through debris. He said fire investigator Kurt Wright determined the fire had been set.

“We’re still speaking to witnesses, conducting interviews,” Bobovnyik said.

He said of the people police have interviewed, other firefighters proved the best witnesses.

blebzelter@tribtoday.com

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