The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Dept. is keeping a lid on details of its investigation into the death of Jarrod Blake Davidson, a 27-year-old UCSB graduate student.

Davidson, who worked as a teaching assistant in organic chemistry, was shot July 9 in the doorway of his Goleta apartment shortly after 11 p.m. The sheriff’s department issued a press release stating that deputies arrived on the scene and found Davidson lying on the ground in front of his home, bleeding from a single gunshot wound. Davidson died in the ambulance as paramedics were transporting him to the hospital.

The press release said several neighbors reported hearing the gunshot, then seeing two people leaving the scene on foot shortly thereafter. One of the subjects was a male wearing a brown jumpsuit, and the other could only be identified as “possibly a female.”

Sheriff’s department spokesman Chris Pappas declined to comment on the specifics of the ongoing case, including any suggestion of a motive for the killing.

“Warrants have been issued in respect to the case,” Pappas said.

Since the investigation began, the only other details officially released have been in the form of two photographs taken from the Vons supermarket in the Turnpike Shopping Center. The sheriff’s department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the three subjects in the photos because police believe they may have information about the case. The photos are posted at www.sbsheriff.org.

Pappas said law enforcement in Santa Barbara County traditionally has a high success rate in solving homicides and arresting the culprits.

“We’re aggressively pursuing this homicide,” Pappas said. “Very substantial resources have been invested in the case.”