Days after a Brookland man fatally shot a 13-year-old who was allegedly tampering with cars in the neighborhood, residents and activists are still searching for answers.

The 13-year-old, whom police identified as Karon Blake, died early Saturday morning after a man in the neighborhood emerged from his home and fatally shot the young teenager with a legally registered gun.

Police have released little information about the circumstances of the shooting beyond their initial press release on Saturday.

According to that press release, the unidentified male Brookland resident shot Karon shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday morning in the 1000 Block of Quincy Street Northeast, right by the middle school where Karon was a student. The resident “heard noises and observed someone that appeared to be tampering with vehicles,” according to police. Then, police said, the man went outside with a registered firearm to investigate. After an “interaction” with Karon, the man fatally shot the young teen, who later died of his injuries at Children’s Hospital. According to a police report from Saturday, Karon suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

The shooting has led to community outrage and questions from residents and activists about why the shooter has not yet been charged with a crime or publicly identified by authorities. According to D.C. police, detectives are still working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to review the facts of the case and consider potential criminal charges. A police spokesperson told DCist/WAMU Monday that officers are still actively investigating and could not provide any additional information. Multiple news outlets reported over the weekend that the shooter was cooperating with authorities.

In a statement on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. said that its investigation into Karon’s death was ongoing, and “as with any pending matter, it would be improper and imprudent to comment any further at this time.”

The statement added that the office is “committed to thoroughly investigating this matter.”

At a press conference on Monday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she was “incredibly saddened” by the shooting.

“We would rather be talking about a 13-year-old going to school today than being killed on our streets,” Bowser said. “This is my message: If anytime for any reason there is a public safety concern, residents should call 911 … I’m not going to talk about any of the facts [of this case]. I’m going to allow the police to complete their investigation. If you feel there is a public safety issue in or around your home, call 911. That is the appropriate thing to do.”

According to D.C. law, use of force in the service of self defense is only allowable when someone believes they’re in imminent danger of bodily harm. And residents are only allowed to use the amount of force that they reasonably believe is necessary to protect themselves or another person from imminent bodily harm. In other words, the amount of force must be proportional to the level of harm they are in danger of suffering. According to D.C. jury instructions, residents are not allowed to use deadly force to protect property, unless someone is breaking into their home in order to commit certain serious crimes.

Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, the new chair of the D.C. Council’s judiciary and public safety committee, wrote on Twitter that she was “outraged & sickened” by the shooting of Karon.

“I’ve spoken to MPD Asst. Chief & will be following the investigation to ensure that justice is served, although we can never bring back the life of this child. Gun has been recovered,” she wrote. “My condolences to the Blake family.”

And Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker, whose constituency includes the block where Karon was killed, wrote on Twitter that he has “deep concerns about neighbors taking justice into their own hands.”

“Our young people deserve long lives with the opportunity to dream big. Healthy communities are safe communities, where we all work together to care for one another and invest in everyone’s wellbeing,” Parker said.

Meanwhile, some locals have taken on investigative efforts of their own. The local abolitionist organization Harriet’s Wildest Dreams and Ward 5 Mutual Aid released a statement on Monday, announcing that they had begun looking into the names and identities of all homeowners on the block where Karon was killed in an attempt to identify the shooter.

“Our community cannot feel safe while our mayor and police force allow a rogue armed man to appoint himself judge, jury and executioner, and gun down a 13-year-old boy on our streets,” the statement said. “Do not normalize vigilante behavior.”

The group said that if D.C. officials don’t release the shooter’s name by the end of the day on Tuesday, they would “take collective action to keep our community safe.”

Harriet’s Wildest Dreams and Ward 5 Mutual Aid did not immediately respond to a request for comment on their plans.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Karon’s community is grieving. The 13-year-old was a son, an older brother to three younger siblings, and a student at Brookland Middle School.

A community member who knew Karon but was not authorized by their employer to speak publicly told DCist/WAMU that he was a “smart, polite, respectful young man” who got along with all of his peers and had younger students who looked up to him at school.

“It’s a real hard thing to process and to think about this morning, not seeing him bouncing up towards the school, saying hello, greeting others like he normally would do,” they said. They added that Karon was a great kid, living in a world where “young Black boys tend to get adulthood ascribed to them.”

“I just hope that people will remember that aspect of him, and not get so clouded by the speculation that’s going around,” they said. “At the end of the day, the only people who truly knew what happened were the assailant and Karon — and only one of them is here to tell their side.”

Martin Austermuhle contributed reporting.

This story was updated with a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.