RUTLAND — Rutland City Police are investigating the death of a man found after a shooting early Tuesday morning on Summer Street, calling it a homicide.
Police said 26-year-old Austin Rodrigues of Rutland was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting inside an apartment building. His body was expected to be taken to Vermont Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death, Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen said early Tuesday afternoon.
“This incident is being investigated as a homicide,” Rutland police said in a press release later Tuesday afternoon. The details and circumstances surrounding Rodrigues’ death were still being investigated, the release added.
Investigators have interviewed several people, but no one was in custody as of about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the release.
“We believe this was an isolated incident, targeted for whatever reason, yet to be determined,” Kilcullen said. “We don’t believe the public is at any risk related to this.”
Police said they were called to the Summer Street apartment building around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday for a “reported shooting incident.”
Responding officers found a deceased man, later identified as Rodrigues, who had been shot at the scene, Kilcullen said.
“We secured the scene and began our investigation,” the police chief said, adding that Rutland Police contacted the Vermont State Police for assistance processing the scene. “They collected evidence and documented the scene.”
The street remained open to traffic, but the Rutland City police department issued a press release to request the public to avoid the area due to the heavy police presence at the scene during the investigation.
The apartment building at 43 Summer St. was cordoned off by caution tape, and neighbors watched the scene from afar. Investigators could be seen entering and exiting the building, and police officers were stationed outside.
Annya Lamothe, a 37-year-old Rutland resident and teacher, said that she has lived on Summer Street for nine years and is concerned for the safety of her three children after the incident amid increasing crime in the area.
“Hopefully the cops can buckle down and do what we can do to keep our kids safe,” Lamothe said.
