Baltimore Tattoo Museum Employee Fatally Shot Outside Shop
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A Baltimore Tattoo Museum employee was shot and killed right outside of the shop Monday night.
A day after the deadly shooting happened, police say they still have no suspects.
According to police, 43-year-old Jim Forrester was shot outside the Baltimore Tattoo Museum at 7:35 p.m. When officers responded to the 1500 block of Eastern Avenue, they found Forrester being treated by medics.
Forrester was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he died a short time later. An autopsy reveals he was shot in the chest.
He had only been working there a year, but his colleagues say he was big part of the tattoo shop. As his co-workers remember him, police are trying to find whoever killed him.
It was right before closing time, when police say a bullet to the chest killed Forrester, who was standing outside of his job.
"It's devastating. We are all heartbroken. He was a shining part of our team," said Chris Keaton, tattoo artist and owner.
Keaton owns the shop where Forrester worked as a piercer.
Police say finding his shooter has been a challenge.
"There was no apparent beef. There're was no ongoing dispute. We're starting at ground zero with this case," Baltimore PD Detective Donny Moses said.
Friends say Forrester has been a piercer for more than two decades, but was also passionate about music. He played bass guitar in several local bands. He was also a family man, with two step-children.
It is believed that Forrester stepped out to call his wife, and was on the phone with her right before he was shot. Investigators say the grieving widow is also a key witness.
"She heard some things, and then she heard nothing, which alarmed her," Moses said. "She then called the store. A friend came outside and checked and found him. So she plays a great role in this."
"She heard him say, 'Get away for me, get away for me,' a couple of times, then some noise and commotion. Then the phone dropped," Keaton said.
Just days earlier, Forrester and his colleagues gathered for a holiday party.
"He was just a bright spot of the shop," Keaton added.
Now they're forced to end the year without him.
Navar Gilberto tells WJZ that Forrester helped raise him as a child.
He stopped by the scene Tuesday to pay his respects and to talk about the man he says was in the midst of overcoming numerous health issues.
"I do hope that in his passing, he can be released from that a little bit, just in trying to see a good side in it. I hope that he is at peace," Gilberto said.
Police say they're trying to recover surveillance video, but it's a busy area.
Authorities want to hear from witnesses, especially if anyone who saw someone running from the scene. You can call Baltimore PD detectives at (410) 396-2100.
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