YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Police are now investigating the Wednesday morning shooting death of a man on the North Side as a homicide.

Detectives initially said foul play was not suspected in the death of a man who was found shot to death in the front seat of a running van in the drive of a home in the 900 block of Alameda Avenue. The driver’s side window was shattered by a bullet.

However, Lt. Mohammad Awad of the Detective Bureau said once investigators moved the man’s body, they found other clues that led detectives to believe that foul play may be involved.

Additionally, police found a gun and a shell casing in the car, but they do not match each other, Awad said.

The Mahoning County Coroner’s Office identified the man as James Merchant, 28, of Youngstown. His death has not officially been ruled a homicide, but Awad said it is being investigated that way now.

He said there are some people who police do want to speak to.

Should the death be ruled a homicide, it would be the eighth in the city this year. Last year at this time, Youngstown had 13 homicides and 19 for the year.