(GoFundMe) Pastor Antonio Armstrong and his wife Dawn in a photo displayed on a GoFundMe page created to help the children they left behind.
“It makes no sense.”
The statement made by one of the victims’ relatives underscores the mystery behind the killing on Friday of Pastor Antonio Armstrong, a former Texas A&M and Miami Dolphins linebacker, and his wife, Dawn, apparently by their own 16-year-old son, who was not identified due to his young age.
Scant details of the case provided by police authorities appeared to only deepen the mystery.
After the shooting, the couple’s teenage son and lone suspect dialled 911 around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, according to the New York Daily News.
Police arrived at the couple’s southwest Houston home and found the body of Dawn Armstrong, 42.
Police sources told KTRK-TV that the pastor, also 42, was taken to the hospital in critical condition but was pronounced dead later with a gunshot wound to the head, according to Fox8.
Investigators who searched the couple’s home found a gun still smoking with an enigmatic note next to it reading, “I’ve been watching you,” KTRK-TV reported.
The couple’s teenage son was subsequently arrested and charged with capital murder, according to KPRC Houston.
The couple’s two other children were also in the house when the shooting took place but were unharmed, according to reports.
“There was nothing left out. There was no neglect or anything. There was nothing that even could possibly have justified this situation,” Dawn Armstrong’s cousin, Vaun Lee, told reporters. “This doesn’t even make sense. It makes no sense.”
Antonio Armstrong was associate pastor at Spirit and Life Kingdom Center in southwest Houston, which is led by his mother, Pastor Kay Shorter.
“This was an outstanding family,” Houston Police Department homicide investigator Jimmy Dodson told KPRC2. “The male of the family was an absolute hard-working breadwinner. He was an associate pastor in the area church. He’s a great guy. The mother was apparently a great mother, according to family members. Like I said, it was kind of the all-American family.”
A motive for the shooting has not yet been made public.
“Fantastic people. I have no idea why this would be happening to them,” said family friend Scott Binkley. “He was one of A&M’s top 25 athletes. Served the Lord. Worked in the community. Did nothing but help people constantly. We are just shocked at what happened.”
Pastor Armstrong was a former professional athlete, physical fitness trainer and motivational speaker.
“Antonio grew up in the inner city. We minister to inner city kids. And he was one of the kids that stayed focused. He knew Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. He moved on with his life and just accomplished things that you couldn’t believe,” Binkley said.
Armstrong played one season for the Miami Dolphins in 1995, according to NFL.com. Before that, he was an All-American linebacker for Texas A&M.
A GoFundMe page created to help the family following the shooting has raised over $75,222 in two days.
