Friends remember man killed in West 7th district as kind, smart, caring for others
The man shot and killed on Crockett Street in Fort Worth’s West 7th entertainment district Saturday night was someone friends could always count on for help and to make them laugh, according to social media posts.
Bryson Rodgers, 29, whose name on social media is spelled Rogers, was shot multiple times in the 2900 block of Crockett Street around 10 p.m. Saturday. Police and paramedics were on the scene within minutes, applying bandages to his chest and side and performing CPR. At one point a paramedic told a friend or family member that they were taking Rodgers to a hospital.
Rodgers died at the hospital, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.
Police said Rodgers was fighting with another person when that person pulled a gun and opened fire. Investigators believe the person fled the area before police could arrive, possibly in a vehicle. The suspect is still at large.
The shooting sent the busy area into chaos and brought a large police presence, shutting down the block. An employee at a restaurant near the shootings said she saw a man with a gun, wearing a tan or beige shirt and white pants, running toward Foch Street before turning around and fleeing back toward Norwood Street. Customers and employees in businesses were told by police to stay indoors and away from windows and were allowed to leave around 11 p.m.
Friends posting to social media Saturday night and Sunday morning expressed disbelief that Rodgers, also known by the nickname Breadloaf, was dead. They described him as a friendly person who they could call at any time. He could always be counted on to make others laugh and avoided conflict whenever he could.
A woman posted on Facebook that Rodgers called her earlier that day and she missed his call. She regrets that.
“You was the sweetest person ever, always looked out for everybody,” she wrote. “We always talked on the phone to get giggles and laughs, now who I suppose to call? I lost a friend that can never be replaced. A chunk of my heart is gone.”
Another wrote in a separate Facebook post that her heart is broken. She keeps hoping she will wake up from a bad dream.
“I don’t even know what to say,” she wrote. “I’m so hurt never felt this hurt before.”
Other friends wrote that Rodgers could be counted on to support them in everything they did and was one of the smartest people they knew. They posted pictures of him and asked for answers about what happened, expressing pain at his death and promising they would never forget him.
West 7th safety
Fort Worth police routinely patrol the West 7th area at night. The City of Fort Worth boosted police presence in the entertainment district last fall after a shooting that killed TCU student Wes Smith outside a bar on Bledsoe Street in September. Police arrested 21-year-old Matthew Purdy, who they say admitted to shooting Smith, a stranger to him, without providing any clear reason why.
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City leaders also unveiled plans to limit the concentration of bars and clubs in the area, create a West Seventh ambassador program like the one downtown, add more street lights, implement safety training for bar staff and use off-duty police officers to check patrons for firearms.
Fort Worth also contributed $50,000 to a $150,000 safety study looking at the city’s entertainment districts, which, in addition to West 7th, includes the Stockyards, Near Southside, and downtown.
