EXCLUSIVE: Antonio Armstrong's mother speaks out

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- For the first time since the shooting death of her son and daughter-in-law, Antonio Armstrong's mother is speaking out.

"He was just that loving kind gracious young man and my daughter, she was the same way. She was so giving and loving and caring," Kay Shorter said in her only televised interview.

Shorter took to the pulpit to give a sermon on Sunday morning, just days after losing two of her family members.

Kay Shorter, Antonio Armstrong's mother, spoke exclusively to Eyewitness News about the shooting death of her son and daughter-in-law.

"Antonio would have said to me if he was here, 'Mama, are you coming to church today?'" she said.

Shorter is the senior pastor and Armstrong a junior pastor at Spirit of Life Kingdom Center in southwest Houston.

Although it's been hard, she says she is turning to prayer for strength and using her faith to pull through a difficult time.

VIDEO: Community gathers to remember couple allegedly slain by son

Friends gather at memorial for the Armstrong family, Kaitlin McCulley reports.

"I have to is what I believe. It's my life, my conviction. I raised my children in the church to serve God -- that's what Antonio did, that's what Dawn did."

Although Dawn and Antonio were not physically present at the service, their spirit could be felt throughout the building.

PHOTOS: Son charged in shooting of parents

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Police say Antonio and Dawn Armstrong were shot in their Bellaire-area town home in July 2016.