MAKE IT STOP.

"These were people who came here and worked for the poor and helped out those in difficult situations," said Robert Thompson, a friend and owner of Fair Grinds, a Mid-City coffee shop where Hill held free filmmaking seminars.

The couple had moved into their North Rampart Street apartment in August after returning from South Carolina, other friends said. They fled their Mid-City home during Hurricane Katrina and were trying to rebuild it.

"They were proactive people that were trying to help solve the city's problems," Thompson said. "They cared."

"This is a huge loss for the city," he said.