MANSFIELD — Police are investigating the shooting death of a 27-year-old Mansfield man found inside a residence at 328 Newman St.
Officers responded Tuesday at 7:24 p.m. after family members had located the victim, Antonio Sanderfer Jr., inside the residence.
“It appears the victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds,” Asst. Chief Jason Bammann said. “The Richland County Coroner’s Office will be sending the body for an autopsy as this is an ongoing investigation.”
Bammann said detectives are working to find out what led to the shooting death, as well as to identify a suspect.
“Family members hadn’t heard from the victim for a couple of days, so they went to the residence to check on him,” Bammann said. “We don’t have a lot to go on at this point.”
Coroner’s Office Chief Investigator Bob Ball said Sanderfer’s body would be taken on Thursday to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office for autopsy.
“I can’t tell how many times he was shot until after the autopsy,” Ball said. “But it was multiple times.”
Ball said family members last saw Sanderfer on Monday morning. Authorities say the victim was found in bed and the shooting likely occurred later that day or Monday night.
Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to call Det. Larry Schacherer at 419-755-9766.
Sanderfer was a first-team, All-Ohio defensive end when he played football for Mansfield Senior. He capped his three-year varsity career in 2013 with 86 tackles, including a whopping 38 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks.
