He was an All-American Boy. A Boy Scout, an athlete who played baseball and swam competitively, he was a devout Mormon. By all accounts, Eric Forrester, 17, was a good kid who befriended almost anyone.
But his life was cut short when he was shot by an intruder in his southwest Fort Worth home Monday afternoon. Forrester and his 21-year-old sister had run home to grab lunch. His sister ran out of the home and then heard gunfire and saw two men flee the home.
When she went back inside, she saw her brother on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced at John Peter Smith Hospital at 10:18 a.m. Tuesday.
The news stunned students at Southwest High School, where many knew Forrester. Friends set up Facebook pages asking for prayers.
"He’s been in orchestra, Boy Scouts. He's really sweet, uplifting guy," said Kaitlin Reese, who has know Forrester since third grade. "He’s a friend to everybody."
The mood was grim at Southwest High School, where counselors were on hand for students. Forrester's swim teammates spent the day consoling one another, along with their coach, Eric Robinson.
"You're hurt, you're disappointed," Robinson said. "It's unfair, but you pull it together and you just have to be there for one another."
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He described Forrester as a talented athlete with a bright future.
Robert Sturgill, a bishop for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who oversaw the ward at Forrester's church, said Forrester planned to go on a two-year mission after he graduated from Southwest High School.
"You couldn’t ask for a better kid," he said. "He’s a great student. He’s a friend of everybody. He always has a smile. He’s always happy. He’s carefree."
Sturgill said the church would have a memorial service open only to family and students.
"The Fort Worth ISD is saddened to learn of the tragic death of Southwest High School senior Eric Forrester," the Fort Worth Independent School District said in a statement. "This young man's untimely and unnecessary death has deeply touched everyone in the district family."
