School officials have identified a Concord High School freshman as the victim of a deadly shooting in Rhode Island.
Providence, Rhode Island police confirmed Saturday that a “missing,” “runaway” 15-year-old from New Hampshire had been shot and killed early Saturday morning, shortly after 2:30 a.m.
On Sunday, school officials identified the boy as Isiah Rosario, a freshman at Concord High School.
“He just had an [really] infectious personality. Kids and staff were drawn to him,” said Jim Corkum, assistant principal at Concord High School. “He was so well-liked by his peers and by staff. You couldn’t help but like him. He just had a lot of good qualities.”
School officials said Rosario moved to Concord, from Rhode Island, toward the end of the 2021-22 school year, when he was in eighth grade.
He was a peer leader, according to Concord High School Principal Michael Reardon, and above all, he was courteous and respectful.
“I think the tragedy of losing him is that he had real gifts many of us do not have,” Reardon remarked. “In terms of leadership and simply his ability to make friends.” That is truly unique.”
On Saturday afternoon, the school district sent a letter to parents informing them of Rosario’s death. Administrators stated that the school would set up grief counselors and other support systems for kids and staff who may be grieving.
“This tragic news deeply affects all members of the Concord community, but most especially Isiah’s peers,” administrators stated in the letter.
Rosario had been missing from school for several weeks, and it is still unclear exactly why he decided to return to Rhode Island, Reardon said.
“We’ve lost a valuable human being, someone who will make the lives of those who know him better, and it just goes to show that we need to be kind and tolerant of one another and work together to make the world a better place,” Reardon concluded.
Homicide detectives are now actively investigating the circumstances surrounding Isiah’s death.