Teen Shooting Victim Laid to Rest, Police Following Leads
By: Hayley Mason
Updated: October 22, 2012
STEPHENSON, VA - Funeral Services were held today for 17 year-old Rhett Goldizen. Just days after a late night tragedy, one Stephenson community is searching for answers in the shooting that ended his young life.
"The family is responding very well with us," says Captain Allen Sibert of the Frederick County Sheriff's Department. "They are working hand-in-hand with us to try to resolve this matter and to find out who these people were that arrived at the residence," he adds.
Police say around midnight last Thursday, two men came to the Goldizen's home on Monastery Road in Stephenson. They say Steve Goldizen, a police officer/investigator at Lord Fairfax Community College, opened the door, where a man said he needed help with his car.
"Mr. Goldizen was trying to speak to him about it and realized there was a second subject there, that was kind of hidden off to the side, that was armed with a shot gun," says Sibert.
Police say Goldizen didn't know the suspects, but he was armed when he answered the door.
"Mr. Goldizen, who had came to the door armed, confronted both of them," says Sibert. "The suspects fired shots. Mr Goldizen fired shots. Ultimately ending in the death of the 17 year-old, Mr. Rhett Goldizen."
Police say there is no evidence the two suspected gunmen were injured in the shooting. But, they believe the men got into an SUV and drove down the private Monastery Road, leaving the scene the same way they came in. Police say they do not know why the men where there or if they live in the area.
"We have several leads," Sibert says. "One lead is bringing us to a local person, but we still have a lot to go on that and there's no other leads that would indicate the identity of these subjects," he adds.
There are no charges pending in the investigation. Police say they will not know who shot Goldizen until ballistic and forensic investgations are complete. The two suspects are described as white males in their 20's, 5' 6" to 6' tall, with dark colored/brown hair and facial hair.
photo courtesy: Omps Funeral Home Website
