Slaying Suspect: โ€œI Did Not Kill Eric Forresterโ€

Man charged in shooting death of popular Fort Worth high school student

The man charged in the shooting death of a Fort Worth teenager who walked in on two intruders said Thursday that he did not kill the 17-year-old.

Seventeen-year-old Eric Forrester was shot in the head Monday in his southwest Fort Worth home when he and his sister came home for lunch. Forrester died at John Peter Smith Hospital on Wednesday morning.

Bruce Terrell Rogers, who is charged with capital murder in the case, said he does not have any idea who killed Forrester.

"I never seen that dude," Rogers said from jail. "I don't know him, know what I'm saying? I don't know anything about the dude."

"I ain't killed nobody," he said. "I ain't hurt a fly."

Rogers said he was in his Crowley apartment all day Monday.

"I was on Facebook and watching TV," he said.

Rogers said he doesn't own a gun because he is a convicted felon.

"I don't even like guns because if I get even caught with a gun or seen with a gun, that's 25 to life," he said. "I'm a convicted felon, so I'm scared of guns."

Rogers was convicted of putting insecticide in a drink his younger brother and nephew drank in 2005 and was sentenced to five years in prison on two counts of injury to a child. He was released in March 2009 after serving the full sentence.

Rogers was arrested twice on suspicion of shoplifting within three months of his release and arrested on suspicion of theft two months later.

He said he thought officers were arresting him for a robbery at a Walmart when he was taken into custody Wednesday. Rogers said he had met a man at the store, asked him for a ride and robbed him.

"But I didn't hurt the dude or anything," he said. "It was just a simple robbery. It was nothing major."

Rogers said he is sad about Forrester's death.

"It's real messed up," he said. "I'm very sad. I feel for his family. I send out my condolences, but, you know, I know I didn't do it. I had nothing to do with witnessing it, nothing."

Rogers is being held on $1 million bail.

"I'm hoping justice proves itself, but, you know, in this type of case, they really don't give a damn, so," Rogers said.

Contact Us