Mother of man shot at Saginaw house says son sought help from resident who killed him
A man who was shot to death this week in Saginaw by a person whom he did not know outside the stranger’s house was likely in an altered mental state after a seizure and was slain by a man who mishandled the encounter, according to the deceased man’s mother.
Andrew Russell, 21, was shot early Monday on the walkway at the front of the house in the 600 block of Babbling Brook Drive, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The shooter told Saginaw police that he woke at the house about 3:52 a.m. to banging on his front door.
The resident told police that he asked Russell to leave. He said Russell began to walk away, then turned and rushed toward him, according to police. The resident fired multiple rounds as he returned inside his house, police said.
Police found Russell face-down on a porch.
In a public Facebook post, Cynthia Williams wrote an account of what she believes occurred before her son was killed.
“He had a seizure and became disoriented. In this disoriented state of mind he walked the neighborhood streets looking for help. He began knocking on doors and finally someone answered,” Williams wrote.
Williams said in an interview with KDFW-TV that her son had epilepsy and frequent seizures. He had previously wandered at night.
He likely wandered early Monday out of his home and needed help, Williams said.
Russell knocked on the front doors of three or four homes, the television station reported, citing a police account.
“This was not justified. The homeowner could have secured himself in the home,” Williams said in the KDFW-TV interview. “He could have called 911. They could have spoken to him through the door, through a Ring camera.”
Saginaw Police Department Assistant Chief Russell Ragsdale said that there has been no indication that Russell was seeking assistance for a medical problem before he was shot.
There was also no indication that Russell, who was wearing a blue and silver jersey, blue jeans and a beanie, was intoxicated, Ragsdale said.
Ragsdale declined to say what type of gun the resident fired.
Russell’s death remains under investigation.
Police will submit findings to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, and a grand jury will review the case.
In an unrelated killing on Oct. 26, a 20-year-old man was shot by a resident at another Saginaw home during what police have described as a reported burglary.
A GoFundMe account was started to help with expenses for Russell’s funeral.
“Anyone who knew Andrew couldn’t help but fall in love with his kind heart and sweet personality,” the organizer of the fundraiser wrote. “It was impossible to know him and not love him. He brought a light to this world and it will never be as bright without him.”
A benefit will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday at Old School Texas West Bar and Grill, at 2132 Tin Top Road in Weatherford, according to the GoFundMe page. A candlelight vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Saint Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, at 5953 Bowman Roberts Road in Fort Worth. T-shirts will be sold at both times, with proceeds going to the Texas Epilepsy Foundation.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 5:15 PM.
