Three days after professional boxer Vernon Forrest was gunned down following a robbery gone awry, Atlanta police are following several leads into his death.
No arrests have been made or suspects identified, Atlanta Police Detective Lt. Keith Meadows said, but the agency is sorting through multiple leads that could track down Forrest’s killer.
The 38-year-old boxer will be buried Monday at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, said Charles Watson, Forrest’s manager. The viewing will be held from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., at which time the funeral service will begin.
Forrest died Saturday around 11 p.m. in southwest Atlanta when he stopped at a gas station on Whitehall Street. With him was his 11-year-old godson, visiting from Texas.
As the boy went inside to use the bathroom and buy snacks, Forrest went to the rear of his Jaguar to add air to a low tire. It was then when a male suspect robbed him at gunpoint and fled.
Forrest, reportedly armed, chased after the man a short distance, to an area near McDaniel and Fulton streets. Shots were exchanged, police said. Giving up the chase, and turning to return to the gas station, Forrest was shot seven to eight times in the back, according to police.
Police say the shooter and a second suspect left in a red Monte Carlo.
Forrest left behind a 12-year-old son, Vernon Jr., a cache of three major boxing titles and a legacy of charitable works in a sport not known for its good citizenship.
“Vernon always was the type of guy who wasn’t going to let anybody take anything from him,” Watson said. “He would give you the shirt off his back, but if you tried to take something from him, he was going to fight you for it.”
-- Staff writer Steve Hummer contributed to this report.
More Stories
The Latest
