Ocean View shooting: Son says he lost his best friend in mother’s death

Anthony Brown's eyes were wet, but he smiled as he talked about his mother in the yard of his Millville-area home Thursday.

"We were best friends," he said. "She was a happy person."

His mother, 55-year-old Cheryl Brown, was killed early Thursday morning after being shot in her home, he said. The 34-year-old lives down the street from where his mother lived with a roommate, he said. He heard the shots just after 4 a.m.

According to Delaware State Police, the suspect left the scene before they arrived, at about 4:20 a.m. After issuing a description of the suspect and his vehicle, a Wicomico County Sheriff's Office deputy spotted him "driving erratically" on Route 50 in Salisbury, near Tilghman Road.

UPDATE:Police identify suspect in Ocean View killing

RELATED:55-year-old woman killed in early morning shooting in Ocean View, suspect arrested in Hebron

The deputy followed him to a home in Hebron, where the 40-year-old was arrested. He was in custody Thursday at the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office, awaiting extradition, and will be identified after he is formally charged, according to Delaware State Police.

Police were still on the scene in Bethany Crest mobile home park at about 11 a.m. Oct. 21, wearing rubber gloves, taking photos and removing what appeared to be bullets from an exterior wall.

Yellow crime scene markers dotted the street as leaves fell on a sunny fall morning.

Neighbors, many of them elderly, sat on porches and stoops. Several of them told Delaware Online they could not recall a violent crime ever happening in Bethany Crest, a community with one U-shaped road off Route 26, just west of Ocean View.

CRIME:Why more women are being shot in this Delaware neighborhood

MORE:Murder charge for Georgetown man after Gumboro body identified as man missing 10 years

Cheryl Brown worked in information technology for Wicomico County public schools, her son said.

"We talked about everything," Anthony Brown said.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet. Two women from across the street came over and embraced him.

"We always look out for each other," he said.