Bilal Russell loved children. He spent his days helping emotionally disturbed youngsters, and planned to someday build a residence for foster children.

Bilal was committed to helping emotionally disturbed children through his work as a life-coach at Black Family and Child Services of Arizona, a non-profit social services agency based in Phoenix.

Russell frequently visited foster children who had a history of physical abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect, said Kendra Stewart, 33, a friend and co-worker of Russell.

"He would come in to a home and talk to foster parents and talk to the children when they were upset. The children could see that he cared, you could see his passion," Stewart said.

Russell and Stewart worked together for the past two years to start their own non-profit agency, GIFTS, for emotionally disturbed children.

The two hoped to make GIFTS, "Get Involved for Their Sake", a residence for emotionally disturbed children in need of foster homes. The two were preparing to submit a proposal to the state of Arizona for a contract and had planned several fundraisers, before Russell's death.

According to police and family on Jan. 14, 2009 about 10:40 p.m., Bilal answered the door to strangers asking for an unknown person who did not live at the house.

The strangers refused to leave and opened fire, wounding Bilal. According to Larry Russell, Bilal's father, his son ran through the house and crashed through a bedroom window to escape his attackers. He escaped into the backyard where he was found moments later by his younger brother.

Neighbors dialed 911 after hearing gunfire; Russell was home alone at the time of the attack. The shattered door of his home has been boarded up but bullet holes pierce the walls and shell casings can still be found throughout the property. He had moved into the house a week before the shooting, according to his father.

"At this point it does look like he was NOT the target; he was just a poor innocent victim. It's very tragic," Det. Cindy Scott, Phoenix police spokeswoman, said. Police have made no arrests and are not releasing information regarding possible suspects because the investigation is on-going.

Blood smears on a septic tank and a pile of brush lead toward a small mound of rocks that marks the place where Bilal Russell finally collapsed and died.

"It killed me to pile those rocks up, but I'm not getting rid of the blood," said Russell's father who piled the stones as a tribute to his son. Russell's father says the family will continue to keep his son's memory alive by continuing his social work. Click Here To Continue Reading Article ...