The family of Shyla Cummings, 25, remembers her as a “beautiful soul” who planned to start nursing school this fall

A family is grieving after a Georgia mother and aspiring nursing student was fatally shot in a Publix parking lot on May 6.

The DeKalb County Police Department was alerted to a reported shooting in the 3000 block of Panola Rd. in Stonecrest, Ga., around 7:20 local time, a spokesperson for the department said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. Upon arrival, responding officers found a man and woman with gunshot wounds at the scene.

The woman has since been identified as 25-year-old Shyla Cummings, according to police. Cummings died of her injuries at the scene.

The suspected shooter has been identified as Isaiah Tarver, 23, the DKPD said in the statement. Police said that Tarver was found at the scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition.

He is facing a murder with malice charge, according to DeKalb County Jail records viewed by PEOPLE.

In the statement, police confirmed that Cummings and Tarver knew one another.

Cummings’ loved ones said she and Tarver were in a long-term on-again-off-again relationship, according to 11 Alive. Her family told the outlet that Cummings was in the vehicle with her 7-month-old daughter Sariyah at the time of the shooting. The baby was not injured and is currently with Shyla’s parents, the family said.

Her family remembered her as “a beautiful soul who loved being a mom.”

“Keep our family strong, almighty God,” Shyla’s father, Roston Cummings told 11 Alive. “Her daughter is almost like Shyla 25 years ago. Same exact way. Adorable. Beautiful.”

Shyla had plans to attend nursing school in August, her family told 11 Alive.

“She was in the peak of her life, you know?” her mother Shameeka Cummings said, adding, “Striving. She was the best. That was like my vacation partner and everything.”

Shyla will be laid to rest next week, according to the outlet.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

SOURCE: https://people.com/mother-shot-and-killed-in-front-of-her-7-month-old-baby-outside-grocery-store-before-her-ex-turned-gun-on-himself-police-say-11974481