HOUSTON, July 30 (UPI) — A former NFL player and his wife were shot dead and their 16-year-old son was arrested on a charge of capital murder after the couple was found dead in the family’s home, Houston police said Saturday morning.
Antonio Armstrong, the teen’s father and a former Miami Dolphins linebacker, died in a hospital. His wife and mother of the suspected shooter, Dawn Armstrong, was found dead in the family’s home, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Investigators said no motive has been established, nothing was out of place in the home and police say there was no sign of a struggle, although a note was found near the gun by police saying, “I’ve been watching you.” The 16-year-old called 911 to the home, according to KTRK-TV.
“There was no neglect or anything, nothing that could even possibly justify the situation,” Dawn Armstrong’s cousin, Vaun Lee told KTRK. “This makes no sense.”
Antonio Armstrong was an all-American linebacker at Texas A&M University before playing one season for the Miami Dolphins.
The Armstrongs ran a gym, First Class Training. Antonio Armstrong was a motivational speaker and associate pastor at his church known for promoting health and fitness, both in his community and on YouTube.
“This was an outstanding family,” Jimmy Dodson, a homicide investigator with the Houston Police Department, told KPRC-TV. “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.”
Lee said the Armstrongs were known as a “power couple” who made things happen in the community and had great relationships with their children.
“They kept them busy and they supported them in everything that they did. There was not any mark that they missed with their children,” Lee said. “There was nothing that even could possibly have justified this situation. This doesn’t even make sense.”
