FORT WORTH -- On a rare night out, Eric Perry and his wife met up with her sister and her husband to attend a party in far north Tarrant County on Saturday.
All four had a few drinks. After the couples started to argue, they decided to leave the party early and piled into Perry’s brother-in-law’s truck, family members said Sunday.A few minutes later, a night of fun ended in tragedy when the domestic dispute left Perry, 37, of Burleson, dead along the North Freeway from a gunshot, police said.His brother-in-law, whose name is being withheld because he has not been charged, was questioned and released by Fort Worth police pending further investigation and consultation with the Tarrant County district attorney’s office, police said Sunday.John Perry of Waco, Eric Perry’s uncle, expressed shock Sunday.“My nephew and his wife rarely go out because of their young kids,” John Perry said by telephone. “And then this happens.”Eric Perry’s wife, Arlene, declined to comment Sunday night.Shane Perry, who was baby-sitting the couple’s kids, said his older brother called and texted him during the night. “He called at about 10:30 and said all was good,” Shane Perry said Sunday night by telephone.He said another relative received a text from Eric Perry about 12:30 a.m. Sunday asking him to pick him up because his wife and in-laws had left him on the side of the road. Later, Eric Perry texted again to say they had come back to pick him up, his brother said.Just after 1 a.m. Sunday, Eric Perry texted a relative again to say the couples had been pulled over by authorities and he was worried he and his brother-in-law would be arrested because they were intoxicated. But minutes later, Eric Perry texted again to say the officer had let them go.The shooting was reported shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday in the 5500 block of the North Freeway in Fort Worth. Officers found Eric Perry on the ground near his brother-in-law’s pickup, which was in a construction area just north of Loop 820.Officers were told that Perry and his wife had been arguing and that the women sat in the front of the truck while the men sat in the back seat.Police said Perry and his brother-in-law began fighting in the back seat, and at some point Perry was shot, police said. No further details were available late Sunday.Domingo Ramirez Jr., 817-390-7763; Twitter: @mingoramirezjr.
