Student shot dead by stranger who confessed but won’t explain why

A college student in Texas was shot and killed by a man who confessed to the killing, but refused to explain why he gunned down a stranger.

Wes Smith, a 21-year-old junior at Texas Christian University, was shot three times outside a Fort Worth bar around 1.00am on Friday morning.

Smith was standing outside a bar called Your Mom’s House when he was approached by a stranger, who shot him once in the stomach, the shoulder, then the back of the head.

The shooter then dashed off, hitting another witness in the head with the gun and causing a laceration.

He was rushed to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead only 40 minutes later.

Police caught up with the suspect only .2 miles from the crime scene, where he was sitting in a large parking lot. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, the suspect was carrying a backpack visibly stained with blood.

The suspect was identified as Matthew Purdy Jr, a 21-year-old who was on probation for aggravated robbery.

After he was taken into custody, officers caught Purdy attempting to disassemble a 9mm handgun and throw its pieces out of the patrol car’s window. They realized he was most likely hiding the weapon in his ‘crotch area,’ according to the arrest warrant.

After being quetioned by police, Purdy admitted to approaching Smith, who he didn’t know, and shooting him three times.

Purdy also told officers that he shot Smith in the back of the head ‘because he wanted to make sure he was dead.’

However, the suspect ‘could not provide a clear reason as to why he shot’ the victim, police said. He also told investigators that he would have shot another person if he hadn’t run out of ammunition.

Purdy has since been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Smith was a native of Germantown, Tennessee, and was studying finance at TCU.

‘Wes was truly an amazing and loving son, brother, cousin, and friend to so many,’ his family said in a statement put out through the university. ‘We are heartbroken by his passing and ask for the space to grieve during this terribly difficult time.’

He was also a former football player on TCU’s Division I team, which reached the National Championship for the first time in January.

Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.