Angela Sutton Washington was a 61-year-old U.S. Army veteran and a beloved mother and grandmother in her Orlando, Florida, community. A Black woman who had served in Operation Desert Storm, she was known for her giving nature. Her son, Fernando Washington, who serves as a minister, said his mother’s day-to-day life was always about helping somebody.
She lived near the North Lane shopping plaza and was a familiar face there, with one neighbor affectionately calling her “auntie.”
On the evening of February 7, 2023, Ms. Washington made a routine stop at a convenience store in the shopping plaza on her way home. According to the Orlando Police Department, she was an innocent bystander who was not the intended target of the violence that erupted. As she walked through a group of young men standing outside the store, an argument between them escalated. At approximately 7 p.m., one of them pulled out a gun and fired, and Ms. Washington was struck by a bullet. Responders found her on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound, and she later died from her injuries.
The Orlando Police Department’s Homicide Unit launched an extensive investigation into what Detective Barb Sharp called the “senseless murder of a valued member of our community.” Investigators released video footage of the group of men outside the store and a dark-colored Mazda 3 seen fleeing the scene. In partnership with Central Florida Crimeline, they offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, crediting eventual tips and community cooperation for breaking the case.
Four months after the shooting, police made their first arrest. On June 9, 2023, detectives took 15-year-old Samuel Stevens into custody. A few days later, on June 13, a second suspect, 19-year-old Keyonce Pitts, was also arrested. Both Stevens and Pitts were charged with first-degree murder with a firearm.
The arrests brought a complex mix of emotions for Ms. Washington’s family and community. Her son Fernando expressed gratitude for the detectives’ hard work but noted that it offered no real closure. “I still lost my mom, and there is another family out there that has lost their children, so there's no win-win in this situation,” he said. Bishop Kelvin Cobaris, a local pastor, described the situation as heartbreaking, mourning that a woman who served her country was killed by senseless violence. As of the arrests in June 2023, the criminal charges against both suspects remained pending.
