Nearly two weeks after the fatal shooting of Concord High School student Isiah Rosario in Rhode Island, police have made no arrests and have not identified a suspect or a person of interest in the homicide.

The 15-year-old freshman was shot and killed in Providence, where he once lived, early Saturday morning on April 15 after he was reported missing from Concord by his mother on April 1, police said. Concord police had tracked him to the Providence area prior to the shooting and notified Providence authorities who could not locate him before he was shot.

The detective division at the Providence Police Department has pursued many leads, conducted dozens of interviews and gathered additional evidence related to the incident but no motive has been determined and the firearm has not been located, said Police Captain Roger Aspinall.

“We looked at and listened to different people in the community and talked to some people in Concord who had some theories but we have proven them to be untrue,” said Aspinall, dispelling rumors that Rosario’s death was a result of drug involvement or gang violence. “There is no evidence that shows it was even remotely close to it.”

Providence police responded to the Chad Brown housing development, where Rosario had friends and acquaintances, around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 15, for reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, police found Rosario laying on the ground next to a vehicle suffering from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Officers performed CPR on Rosario while waiting for rescue to arrive. He was transported via ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital where he was pronounced dead. A toxicology report revealed that Rosario had no illegal substances or alcohol in his body.

“As part of our analysis, we did seize that vehicle and processed the car for evidence,” Aspinall said. “We had a crime scene unit that has gone through the vehicle and the area up there. We’ve been up there numerous times canvassing the area looking for more evidence that we might have missed.”

Still, nothing has pointed police to a person of interest, the firearm used, or a motive in the homicide.

“It’s been really challenging; no one wants to see a 15-year-old murdered,” he continued. “Here’s a juvenile from Concord that comes back down to Providence where he feels comfortable and where he grew up and he succumbs to violent crime.”

Rosario moved to Concord from Providence toward the end of the 2021-2022 school year where he joined his eighth grade class at Rundlett Middle School before starting his freshman year at Concord High School, principal Michael Reardon said in a previous interview. He had a passion for basketball but due to academic challenges, he was ineligible to play on the freshmen boys’ team.

In the weeks prior to his death, he was working hard to fit in with his new community, where he quickly became well-known and liked, and get his grades up so he could return to sports, Reardon continued. The news of his death left the high school community angry, confused and sad.

Rosario had many ties to the Chad Brown housing development where he was killed, including his father’s former residence and several friends and acquaintances that still lived in the projects, Aspinall said. The housing development is located in Providence’s Wankuck neighborhood, which used to have a bad reputation for violent crime before it was cleaned up a few years ago.

Since the beginning of the year, the Providence Police Department has investigated four firearm-related homicides, including Rosario’s, and made 78 arrests in connection to illegal firearm possession, all 78 of which were confiscated, Aspinall said. Last year, the city seized 273 firearms, which is close to one firearm per day.

“It’s just incredible, we have never seen this amount of firearms on the street than in the last couple of years,” he continued. “But violent crime is down 14% from last year and down 12% compared to the five year average.”

However, violent crime involving firearms has continued to trend higher. Statistics on juvenile-related firearm offenses and incidents were not available.

“It’s a really sad story; we have met with the family and heard some of the stories from his mom about Isiah and detectives have been working really hard to come up with an answer on who did this and what led up to this,” Aspinall said.

The family has established a GoFundMe to help Rosario’s mother, Adeline Bynum, and his siblings stay in Rhode Island throughout the duration of the investigation where they can be surrounded by friends and family, wrote Rosario’s aunt, Angel Bynum. The fundraiser collected more than $5,600, suprassing the goal of $5,000.

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