(From L to R) D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, Seth Rich’s girlfriend Kelsey, Mary Rich, Aaron Rich, and Joel Rich at the scene of the crime in Bloomingdale. (Photo by Rachel Kurzius)

“We want to find who killed our son,” said Mary Rich, on the corner in Bloomingdale where 27-year-old Seth Conrad Rich was shot to death on July 10.

Surrounded by her husband Joel, son Aaron, Seth’s girlfriend Kelsey, and D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier, Mary’s voice filled with emotion as she pleaded for any tips that could lead to getting the person responsible for her son’s death off the streets. “They will kill anybody,” she said. “The next time they shoot and kill, it will be someone you love.”

This was the first time they stood where their son was shot, after driving by the day before. “It was very traumatic,” Mary Rich said.

While the Rich family maintains that Seth, a staffer at the Democratic National Committee, was the victim in a robbery, D.C. Police say they still don’t have the information to determine a motive. “It’s possible that’s what happened,” Lanier said. “Right now we have more questions than answers.”

The victim’s watch, wallet, and credit cards were still at the scene when police found him wounded at the corner of Flagler Place and W Street NW around 4:20 a.m. He died of his injuries at a nearby hospital.

The police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone who gives information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for Rich’s murder (as they do for any homicide committed in the District). At the press conference, officers handed out flyers with Rich’s picture and a call for the public’s assistance.

Seth Rich on July 4. (Photo via Twitter)

Rich’s murder, close to a DC Water construction site, was one of a number of incidences of gun violence in the neighborhood. Since then, city officials have implemented changes on the block, including removing blankets from a construction site meant to suppress noise, fixing street lights, and adding more patrols.

A police car has become a fixture on the corner of Flagler and W streets. Lanier told DCist that MPD is “trying to keep visible” in the neighborhood, though there aren’t plans for around-the-clock stationary posts. “Stationary posts are not that effective, honestly,” she says. “The criminals know where you are.”

In lieu of information about the case, unfounded conspiracy theories have flourished on sites like Reddit.

The Rich family was in town from Nebraska for a celebration of their son’s life, which occurred on Wednesday evening. “He lived such a wonderful life for such a short life,” his mother said.

One of those in attendance, Michael Cass-Antony, used to work with Seth and lived with him in Columbia Heights before the 27-year-old’s move to Bloomingdale. He says that within three months of meeting Seth, his friend asked him about plans for his birthday—which was still four more months away. Then, “after emailing eight of my friends he had never met,” Rich organized a tailgate and football game outing for Cass-Antony. “That really encapsulates the kind of person he was,” Cass-Antony says.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 202-727-9099 or text 50411.