ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Police said they arrested a 15-year-old on Friday in the shooting death of a U.S. military veteran.
>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<
According to police, Samuel Stevens shot and killed Angela Sutton Washington on Feb. 7 outside a shopping plaza on North Lane.
Channel 9 spoke with her son Sunday morning, who is leaning on his faith to keep moving forward.
Fernando Washington serves as a minister at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church and said Sunday worship is the best thing for him since his mother died four months ago.
“The past four months have been quite difficult,” he said.
Read: Orlando Police: 15-year-old arrested in US military veteran’s shooting death
Washington’s family and friends are trying to heal daily.
Police said they do not believe Angela Washington was the intended target of the shooting.
The shooter had left the scene, and now, the department has a suspect in custody.
“(I’m) relieved, but there’s still no closure,” Fernando Washington said.
The suspect has been charged with first-degree murder with a firearm.
Fernando Washington said two lives were lost that day - his mother’s life and the life of the teen.
Read: Orlando police identify woman shot outside shopping plaza
“You’ve got to face your consequences,” he said. “Every choice has a consequence. You chose to do what you did. You’ve got to face the consequences of your actions. I wish you would’ve chosen something else to do.”
Fernando Washington said he is thankful for the support from people in the community, people in the state and across the country who have reached out to him during this time.
“There’s no plan; there’s no guidebook for this,” he said. “It’s not written every day. You figure it out as you go.”
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2023 Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/BNFJWY7KSJHWJDTQ67DZYV5FGY.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/POUP6PICARG6VAHN44FO7OWGKE.PNG)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/VJUHROMDQVHPDA34Z2O3S2UGJU.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/PKLHYIKJTZBVDHNSOF2J6MRJXM.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LQTC5VLK2VDLVOYEH7YQ3WFIQE.jpg)