FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas Christian University has confirmed the person killed in the 7th Street party district in Fort Worth is one of their students. Now, TCU is offering counseling to students here at TCU who need it.
Th person killed in the shooting was 21-year-old Wes Smith. Some of the students on the TCU campus who are grieving knew Smith personally while others crossed paths with him in the sports arena when he first arrived at the university.
Around 1:00 a.m. Friday, Fort Worth police responded to gunfire in the 7th Street party district. Officers found Smith in the street with multiple gunshot wounds. Police used crime scene tape to block off the street where the shooting took place.
Officers arrested the suspected shooter 21-year-old Matthew Purdy for murder who they say assaulted a woman outside while fleeing the scene.
As a freshman, Smith played TCU football as a walk-on. After being involved in many sports and activities in high school, Smith's TCU involvement came as no surprise to his former high school coach, Timothy Gibson.
"He played football for us, he played Lacross," Gibson said, "At one point, played basketball. He was student body president. There were very few spaces he didn't occupy at our school."
Smith also left his mark at TCU.
In this statement, the Vice Chancellor wrote:
"We are devastated by the tragic death of one of our students, junior Wes Smith from Germantown, Tennessee. He was a beloved member of our community, and we grieve with his family and friends."
"I just think that speaks to who is was as a person," said Coach Timothy Gibson. "Wes was a special young man. He was a light in the lives of people, more than likely than he even knew."
Smith's fraternity brothers gathered Friday afternoon at the Kappa Sigma house on fraternity row at TCU. The student president of Kappa Sigma at TCU briefly described Smith as just like his former coach and the university. Plans are in the making for a vigil to help celebrate the life of Smith.