Isaac Lopez, also known as Isaac Gomez-Lopez, was a 15-year-old Hispanic/Latino male from Phoenix, Arizona, who was killed on the night of Wednesday, September 24, 2008, while walking to visit his girlfriend. He had set out that evening for what should have been a routine trip across his neighborhood, heading toward a bus stop near the intersection of North 35th Avenue and Roosevelt Street in central Phoenix.
Instead, that short journey turned into a fatal encounter that has remained unsolved for years, and his case is still highlighted by local crime-stoppers organizations as a cold case in need of answers.
According to investigators and Silent Witness case materials, the incident unfolded at about 11:15 p.m. near the bus stop at North 35th Avenue and Roosevelt Street. As Isaac approached the area, two other males confronted him and began chasing him into the street. During or immediately after this chase, he was shot; responding authorities later noted that he was found critically wounded and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries. The exact circumstances of what sparked the confrontation have not been publicly explained, and available summaries describe only that the encounter with the two individuals “turned fatal” as he neared the bus stop.
Witness accounts and case summaries describe the suspects as two Hispanic men who fled the scene on foot immediately after the shooting. They have never been publicly identified by name, and police have continued to refer to them as “unknown” suspects. Crime-stoppers bulletins emphasize that the pair chased Isaac into the roadway before the shooting, and then ran off before officers arrived. Silent Witness and subsequent news coverage list the case as unsolved and offer a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest or indictment, underscoring that no one has yet been held accountable.
More than a decade after the killing, local media still classify the homicide as a cold case, periodically featuring Isaac's story in lists of unsolved September murders in the Phoenix area. These reports repeat the same core details: he was heading to see his girlfriend, was chased near the 35th Avenue and Roosevelt bus stop, was shot, and later died at the hospital, while the two unidentified men believed responsible escaped on foot. Authorities and community case registries continue to appeal for tips, reflecting both the lack of reported arrests and the ongoing hope that someone with information will eventually come forward so the case can be resolved and justice secured in Isaac's name.
