MANSFIELD — An 18-year-old Mansfield woman was shot to death through an apartment window Wednesday night at 794 W. Third St., according to Mansfield police.
Police were called at 10:38 p.m. to the apartment after Le’ondra Messner was shot from close range through a window, police Chief Jason Bammann said Thursday morning.
“When officers arrived, they located the victim inside the residence. It appeared that she had sustained gunshot wound(s). She was transported to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, where she was pronounced dead,” the chief said.
“It is still very early in the investigation, and detectives are continuing to piece together the details,” Bammann said.
The chief said Messner was visiting a friend at the residence when she was shot.
“She wasn’t in the residence very long when gunshots began to ring. (Bullets) went through a window and struck her. It appears that those shots were fired directly at her,” Bammann said.
The chief said it was common for Messner to visit her friend at that apartment.
“From what I’m gathering, she was only there a couple of minutes before this incident occurred. So that’s what we’re trying to determine … if she was followed there (or) was somebody waiting on her.
“It is kind of ironic that it happened that quick. Those are all the angles that we’re trying to get answers to,” Bammann said.
He said detectives have spoke to a couple of persons of interest.
“At this point they’re just persons of interest. There’s no charges (filed) at this point. It’s still very early in the investigation,” he said. “We’re just kind of analyzing everything and and trying to get to the bottom of this.”
Bammann said he didn’t know how many shots were fired and how many times the victim was shot. He also didn’t know where she was struck.
Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call Det. Sgt. Jered Kingsborough at 419-755-9729.
