Less than 24 hours after the shooting, police detectives combed the 1500 block of Eastern Avenue in Fells Point searching for clues to 43-year old Jim Forrester's killers.
His boss and the owner of the Baltimore Tattoo Museum says Forrester, who was a body piercer at the business, had stepped outside to call his wife when his conversation was interrupted.
"She heard him say, 'Get away from me. Get away from me', and then he wasn't in contact with her anymore. She heard the phone drop," said Chris Keaton.
Forrester's wife called the tattoo shop and asked his co-workers to go outside to check on him when they found him lying on the ground.
Initially, paramedics believed he'd been assaulted, but an autopsy later turned up evidence he'd been shot with a small caliber handgun.
"Apparently there's some video of youths running back up to Perkins after the fact and gunshot wound to the chest," said Keaton.
At this point, police have not identified any suspects, but in light of the recent violence generated by youths in popular neighborhoods near the Inner Harbor, Detective Donny Moses had this to say.
"It's been a problem, if the suspects are in fact kids. We've talked about it all year and unfortunately, this crazy pattern is continuing,” said Moses, “They're not kids. Kids are in school. Kids are preparing for Christmas holiday. These are killers, and we need them off the streets and they need to sit in jail for a long time."
It is a point not lost upon the owner of T/K Cycles who had just left his business across the street an hour before the shooting.
"Because I have a business and a wife to protect, of course when I come out, I have that awareness and I check my surroundings, but I never felt it was a deep threat... not in this area," said Tyree Lowery.
In addition to his wife, Forrester also leaves behind two step-children, and along with his body piercing, he made quite a name for himself as the bass player for two Baltimore hard rock bands---the Serpents of Secrecy and Foghound.
"We've got a band together,” said Keaton, “I'm not sure about what to do down here, but I need my friends."
If you have any information, which could help lead police to Forrester's killers or if you were driving by in that busy area of Eastern Avenue and saw something last night around 7:30, you can call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
