Matthew Fortenberry loved basketball and earlier this month his school team had won a championship. His Glen Oaks Park Primary school team was due to be honored at Wednesday’s Metro Council meeting.
Instead, his parents and Baton Rouge leaders took to the council chambers to announce a fund for the funeral expenses of the 11-year-old boy who was shot dead last week.
Michael Fortenberry spoke about his son’s straight A’s and his son’s success on the basketball court before calling for an end to gun violence in Baton Rouge.
“Something has to happen, something has to stop, something has to change,” said Michael Fortenberry. “I’m not the only father who will probably be up here, probably not the last.”
Donations to the Matthew Fortenberry Funeral Expense Fund can be made at any b1Bank location or online at b1BANK.com, bank chief Heather Gatte Roemer said. Cash and checks are accepted. Locate your nearest b1Bank by calling 877-614-7600 or on the bank’s website.
Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome held the hand of Fortenberry’s mother, Francesca Isaac, who cried as she heard officials plead for an end to a recent outbreak of gun violence in Baton Rouge.
“This fund will help Matthew’s family process their devastating loss,” Broome said. “But that’s not enough. We must come together as a community to take action to prevent such tragedies from happening again.”
Isaac, her husband and Matthew’s five siblings are shocked and saddened by the death of Fortenberry last week.
“We’re not doing well at all,” Isaac said last Wednesday.
Police say Matthew and several others were held hostage in a car last Thursday night by a 17-year-old gunman who was trying to lure a relative from a nearby home. Someone in the car started shooting and the suspect shot the car; Matthew was wounded and died in hospital.
Police later arrested the teenager they said killed Matthew; District Attorney Hillar Moore says he plans to indict him as an adult.
“Our hearts go out to the family,” Moore said. “We have work to do here in law enforcement – we take that very seriously. This just has to stop.”
Isaac and Matthew’s father will remember him as “open and forthright,” Isaac said. He is survived by three brothers and two sisters, ranging in age from 4 to 18, she said.
Matthew was the couple’s third child.
A parade will be held at Glen Oaks Park Elementary School on April 29 to celebrate Matthew’s life, Councilman Darryl Hurst said. A foundation will also be formed in Matthew’s name to support athletic programs at the elementary school.
Despite her immense grief, Issac says she tries to keep a brave face for her children.
“I have to be strong,” she said. “If I break down, they break down. If they see me lose it, they’re afraid they’re going to lose me.”
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