(Tribune News Service) — A suspect has been arrested in the death of a Texas mom who was taking her son to the Naval Academy, police say.
Houston mom Michelle Cummings was killed by a stray bullet while relaxing on the patio of a hotel in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 29. She and other family members were visiting the city for her son’s induction ceremony.
Angelo Harrod, 29, was arrested on first-degree murder and other charges in the shooting. Before the shooting, he cut off an ankle monitor bracelet while on house arrest and became a fugitive, police said.
Harrod was arrested by patrol officers on a warrant the day of the shooting and has been in custody without bond, police said.
“What should have been just a fantastic, celebratory time for the family just turned for the worse due to somebody else’s recklessness,” Annapolis Police Chief Ed Jackson said at a Wednesday news conference.
Cummings, 57, was visiting with other parents who brought their sons to the Naval Academy when she was shot, police said.
Harrod is accused of firing at a couple in a vehicle parked near the hotel and an “errant shot” hit Cummings, police said. Police have not released a motive for the shooting.
In the weeks since the shooting, the FBI, ATF, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and U.S. Naval Academy alumni contributed to rewards for information in the investigation.
Cummings’ son, Trey Cummings, who’s a football prospect for Navy, attended the induction ceremony a day after his mother’s death and he was granted leave to mourn before summer training, the Baltimore Sun reported.
Vice Adm. Sean Buck, superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, said Wednesday the preparations for Cummings’ son to return are underway.
“When Trey is ready after he has grieved and laid his mom to rest and he has prepared himself, we will welcome him back with open arms,” Buck said. “He’ll be a very proud member of the brigade and mature and evolve into being a commissioned officer in our United States Navy.”
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Michelle Cummings, mother of Midshipman Candidate Leonard Cummings III. (GoFundMe)
