On Halloween night in the middle of prime trick-or-treating hours, shots were fired in a city neighborhood. Children were rushed to safety leaving a 23-year-old man alone on the ground.

Six months later, the family of Quentin Pope has no idea who killed him, or why. "He was loved, he was important," says his sister Quentara Blanding.

At a tree on St. Clair Street, "Happy Birthday" balloons, candles and stuffed animals mark what would have been Pope's 24th birthday last month. Family who gathered there vowed their gift to him is to find out what happened.

"If a person asked me what the ideal big brother was, I would say I had the ideal big brother," says Blanding.

With his own father pretty much out of the picture, Quentin Pope helped to raise his little sister. "He was like my father figure, the only father I ever really knew," says Blanding.

While cutting through the fence of a yard on Morgan Street on December 31st, Pope was confronted by one or two groups of people and shot several times in the torso.

"We could see him laying (sic) back there," recalls Charita Murray, who is Pope's aunt. Murray remembers getting the call around eight o'clock at night while out trick or treating with the kids.

"We got there as the ambulance was getting there so we knew what the outcome was," she says. "They left- they said there was nothing they could do."

Pope practically grew up in this neighborhood, where many members of his extended family still live. After a few promising leads, there are no suspects.

"We are his family, he has a daughter, and we just want answers," says Murray. "He didn't deserve to go this way."

Rochester Police say this remains an open and active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 423-9300.

Quentin Pope had recently earned both his GED and certification as a plumber. With so many people out early on Halloween his sister is sure there are witnesses who could help find the killer.

"People don't come forward because they expect someone else to come forward," says his sister Quentara Blanding. "He was everything to us and we just want to know what happened."