TCU student killed in Fort Worth West 7th area by stranger who couldn’t say why: police

A TCU student who was killed early Friday in the West 7th district was approached on the street and shot three times by a man who didn’t know him and who couldn’t give detectives a clear reason why he did it, according to Fort Worth police.

The victim’s family and university officials identified him as 21-year-old TCU junior Wes Smith, from Germantown, Tennessee.

Smith’s family said in a statement that he was “an amazing and loving son, brother, cousin and friend.”

“We are heartbroken by his passing and ask for the space to grieve during this terribly difficult time,” the family said.

Officers were who patrolling the area heard several gunshots and responded to the 3000 block of Bledsoe Street shortly after 1 a.m. Friday, Fort Worth police said in a news release. They found Smith lying on the ground. He had been struck by gunfire multiple times in his upper body.

Smith was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 1:45 p.m., according to police. Officers apprehended the suspect, Matthew Purdy, 21, a short time later in the area of the shooting. He faces a charge of murder.

Investigators said that Smith was standing in the street when he was shot. Purdy ran away from the scene and assaulted a woman as he fled, police said.

The shooting scene was near the bar Your Mom’s House in the entertainment district, close to the intersection of Bledsoe and Norwood streets and a couple of blocks east of University Drive.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit for Purdy, surveillance video shows the suspect — dressed in a white T-shirt, dark pants and red ball cap and carrying a backpack — approach Smith as he stood on the sidewalk just west of Your Mom’s House. The man appeared to be talking to Smith, who fell in the street a moment later. The suspect stood over Smith and then ran toward S. University Drive, the video shows.

A witness described seeing Purdy shoot Smith while standing over him, police said. As the witness and a friend ran, Purdy hit one of the witnesses in the back of the head with the gun, the affidavit says.

A short time later, officers from the police department’s Air One helicopter saw someone matching the suspect’s description in a parking lot just southeast of where Smith was shot. An officer tried to talk to the suspect, but he continued walking, according to the affidavit.

Officers were able to stop and detain the suspect. They identified him as Purdy, who was on probation in Tarrant County after pleading guilty to aggravated robbery last year.

Purdy was placed in the back of a patrol unit after officers patted him down. Several minutes later, an officer saw movement in the back of the patrol car and found Purdy holding the handle of a pistol, the affidavit said. Purdy had taken the 9mm handgun apart and thrown pieces out of the patrol car when the officer opened the door to check on him. Police believe he’d hidden the gun in his crotch area.

The homicide detective who interviewed Purdy said that he saw something that appeared to be fresh blood on the suspect’s backpack, according to the affidavit.

The detective said Purdy admitted shooting Smith three times — once in the stomach, once in the shoulder and finally in the back of the head after the victim was on the ground. Purdy told police he shot Smith in the head “because he wanted to make sure he was dead,” the affidavit said.

Purdy didn’t know Smith and couldn’t give the officers a clear reason why he shot him. He told police he shot Smith after asking if Smith knew his father, who was apparently assaulted at one time near 7th Street, according to the affidavit.

Purdy also said he would have shot a witness if he hadn’t run out of ammunition, according to the affidavit.

Bond for Purdy has been set at $500,000 and he was transferred to the Tarrant County Jail on Friday afternoon. It’s not clear whether he has obtained an attorney. Prosecutors have filed a motion to have him sentenced on his prior robbery charge, for which he received deferred adjudication, according to court records.

Homicide detectives are continuing the investigation, officials said.

In a statement to the Star-Telegram, a TCU spokesperson said, “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.”

A message to students and staff from the university’s vice chancellor for student affairs said that Smith was a finance major and Kappa Sigma fraternity member, according to a post on a Facebook group for TCU parents.

Smith was a member of the TCU Horned Frogs football team as a freshman in 2021-22, according to his LinkedIn page and other online records. For high school, he attended St. George’s Independent School in Memphis, where he was student body president and captain of the football and basketball teams. He was named the Tennessee DII-AA West Defensive Player of the year for football. He also played lacrosse.

In her message to students and staff, TCU Vice Chancellor Kathy Cavins-Tull wrote, “The grief in our community is great today. There are resources available today for immediate mental health and spiritual counseling and I urge you to use them.”

Walk-in services are available at the Counseling and Mental Health Center on the second floor of Jarvis Hall. A chaplain is available to speak with students at Carr Chapel.

“We are working directly with Wes’ closest friends and classmates,” Cavins-Tull wrote. “As soon as we have more information, I will send a more formal announcement with ways to gather in support of each other and in honor of Wes.”

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