Three men posing as agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives kicked their way into a home in Whistler, killed a 31-year-old man and held four others at gunpoint early Wednesday, Prichard police said.

The three men searched the home for money before leaving with a flat screen television, police said.

The victim was identified as Taurus Terrell Russell, according to Prichard spokeswoman Latoya Veal. She said Russell was shot once in the middle torso and was pronounced dead at the scene when rescue workers arrived about 3 a.m.

The incident took place on Stile Avenue, which runs west off St. Stephens Road two blocks north of Bear Fork Road, Veal said.

While Veal did not identify the address, neighbors said the incident took place at 1702 Stile Ave. They said police and an ambulance remained at the home until well past dawn.

The house is a single-story brick residence next to a driveway leading to Prichard Memorial Gardens, which is behind the home. Neighbors said Russell lived at the home with a woman and their two sons, the oldest of whom is 10.

According to Veal, a third child was also present when the men came into the home by kicking in a door.

Veal said none of the other four people in the home was physically harmed during the attack.

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday night. The three men were described as black, wearing all black clothing with their faces covered. No one saw a car leaving the scene, Veal said.

Without going into specifics, Veal did say police believe Russell’s attackers targeted him.

“We do not believe it is a random act,” she said.

A neighbor, Dwana Philon, said Russell was a friendly man who spent many of his days around the house and was seen regularly bringing his two sons home from school.

“He minded his business and his children,” she said.

“My son, who is 13, would play ball with his son,” Philon said, gesturing toward a basketball goal next to a gold Saturn parked in the driveway of Russell’s home.

Philon said she could not recall any serious incidents ever happening on Stile Avenue, a tree-lined street of mostly well-kept single-story homes, many with fenced-in yards and at least two with reinforced iron fencing and security gates.

“Our children double-check our doors every night before we go to bed,” she said. “But this is a family street, where people get together and talk on the porch.”

Veal agreed with Philon’s assessment of the neighborhood. “It is a rather quiet area. I cannot remember writing a release about a major crime in that neighborhood since I’ve been here,” she said.

Online court records show that Russell had some past scrapes with the law. According to the records, Russell was given six months probation after pleading guilty to second-degree marijuana possession after a 1998 arrest.

Two other drug-related offenses in 2004 were nol prossed, according to the records.

Veal said anyone who has information that can solve Russell’s killing should call Prichard police at 251-452-2211.