The Antelope Valley Times

Your community. Your issues. Your news.

Palmdale man shoots wife, found dead inside home

by •

The call came in around 6:38 a.m., Friday, Jan. 17, from a home in the 37700 block of Christensen Court in Palmdale. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)
The call came in around 6:38 a.m., Friday, Jan. 17, from a home in the 37700 block of Christensen Court in Palmdale. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)

PALMDALE – An east Palmdale neighborhood was shut down for several hours on Friday as dozens of deputies surrounded a home in the 37700 block of Christensen Court, where a 44-year-old man was barricaded after allegedly shooting his wife. Palmdale deputies risked their lives to rescue the wife, a 49-year-old Palmdale woman who is in serious condition, but is expected to survive. The suspect was found dead inside the home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a press release from the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station. Read it below:

Palmdale Sheriff’s Station received a call this morning [Jan. 17] of a shooting in the 37700 block of Christensen Court, Palmdale. The caller indicated that his mother had just been shot by his stepfather. Deputies responded to the scene as the incident was rapidly unfolding. The suspected shooter was still reportedly inside the house, as were two teenage boys. The first deputies to arrive quickly formulated a plan and managed to convince the young boys to run out of the house. They obtained information from the boys about the female gunshot victim. They learned she was lying, unresponsive, inside the house near the threshold of the front door, which the boys had left open.

The Special Weapons Team entered the home in the afternoon and found the suspect dead, officials said. (LUIS MEZA)
The Special Weapons Team entered the home in the afternoon and found the suspect dead, officials said. (LUIS MEZA)

With little regard for their safety, the deputies implemented a tactical plan and approached the house, intent on rescuing the gunshot victim. They located the victim, who was bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound, just inside the doorway. As some deputies stepped over the victim to protect her and provide cover for their partners, others formed a circle around her and carried her out of the house.

They carried her more than 50 yards to where the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Engine 93 and Squad 131, had staged. Paramedics began immediately treating the victim and rushed her to a nearby hospital. She underwent surgery for a single gunshot wound to the upper torso and, although indications are very preliminary and she is in serious condition, she is expected to survive.

Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Larry Tucker praised the deputies’ actions, indicating that what they did may very well have saved the woman’s life.

Deputies contained the location where they believed the gunman was holed up. Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) and a Crisis Negotiations Team (CNT) were called to the scene.

Entry into the location was made by a Special Weapons Team early this afternoon (Jan. 17). The suspected gunman was found deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau are at the scene continuing the investigation into the death of the suspected shooter.

The name of the suspect is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin and positive identification. There is no further information being made available at this time.

Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

70 comments for "Palmdale man shoots wife, found dead inside home"

  1. Is there an update on the condition of the wife? What is her medical condition? Did the children receive assistance to help them cope through this trauma. Where was the deceased buried? I was recently notified of the tragedy. So very sad.

    • He did not deserve to die. She probably killed him and then shoot herself to make it look like he shoot her. He is not that type of man. I believe that if he was alive when the police got there he would have cooperated with the police. He was a great person and father.

  3. Opinions of strangers are biased against this MAN. A MAN who appears to have worked hard his entire life, responsible, and, albeit possibly, a fallible human…he seems to have been a providing husband, father and a humane MAN. The man may have been set up by a deranged woman and her hostile children/family…. Who’s to say…. Who’s to say he wasn’t trying to escape an insane situation, finally, and find some normalcy…. Love? But his attempt to escape situation was thwarted… I feel sad for him to be so unjustly demonized… Bless him and his family who remember and know the man he was, really was…

  4. Well these people are my neighbors, they live in front of my house, I have been in my house for 4 years and I never heard nothing, they were quiet and respectful people, the 2 kids always at home, I don’t even know the names of the kids neither the wife’s name or man’s name. they never created a problem, I think that people that live around me are good and respectful people and still believe that I live in a decent and good neighborhood.

    I think is easy to criticize but I feel sad for the kids and the woman, hopefully they will recover soon, what happened is horrible and I never thought that something like this will happen in front of my house !!!!

      • Typical AV neighborhood. People are neighbors for years and NEVER acknowledge each other or bother to introduce themselves to their neighbors. Gee, no wonder so many home burglaries.

        • Wth?? Home burglaries happen because thieves break in not because neighbors don’t know each other’s names.

          • In Sac ‘s defense, it can make a difference if people know each other and therefore watch out for each other in their hood instead of isolating themselves,I.e. neighborhood watch.

          • @As, I think you forgot the second s on your name. You knew exactly what I was saying. When people get to know their neighbors, at least by name or to wave when they see them, they tend to look out for each other in most areas. Maybe not yours.
            What a sad thing that has happened to the family in this story. I hope the wife will be okay and the children will be able to move on and forgive their father.

        • Really? The reason not to make friends with neighbors is to keep them at a distance. You invite them into your life, and then they know exactly what you have. Don’t need the drama.

        • Some of you people are so IGNORANT, you talk crap about people you don’t even know…they BOTH worked for the Prison out here and were/are good people that never caused trouble or fought..this man Just snapped in a Jealous rage…it is sad and am praying for the boys and woman! something some of you jerks should do instead of shooting off your opinion about something you know nothing about!

  5. A home with a gun in it is 6 times more likely to be the site of a shooting involving a family member / friend or a suicide than protecting anyone from an intruder – FBI Statistics.

    • Well isn’t that why you get a gun to protect your family? I know I have a gun and I will use it if there is an intruder in my home. I don’t think people get guns if they don’t intend to use it. That’s a dumb observation. I mean hello a home that has no gun in it of course there’s not going to be a shooting, unless it’s from an outward source. Sheesh.

    • Hey anti gun,you and every other anti gun person needs to put a sign in front of your house,NO GUN HOUSE,WE DON’T THINK GUNS ARE RIGHT.Hey better yet lets all throw all our guns in the ocean and we wont have any more problems in the AV.Gun laws are a joke and criminals will never follow them,look up crime rates in counties that dont issue ccws to there citizens,and then look up crime rates in the county that will allow any person who isn’t a criminal,isn’t insane to carry a gun and that county will have less crime.Its a field day in LA county for criminals because they know that unless you are a cop they can rob and rape you,and nothing will happen.Criminals have the power(a gun) in LA county and we the law abiding citizen is supposed to just wait there turn to be victimized.

  6. Sorry to say this but if police officers wouldn’t be such bully’s people would not have so bad opinions on them. If you are a police officer do your job be carefull doing it then when know that the situation is stable treat the people you are to protect with some respect even if they where speeding everyone makes mistakes. But this officers today bully people all the time I hear about it every day that’s why people have such bad opinion about them.
    Now for the victim I hope she is ok and pulls through just fine she has 3 kids to take care of and then burry the man the tried to kill her she will need a lot of help to get pass this moment in her life. May god bless her and her family.

  7. The suspect was a 60year old man and a retired cop held up in the house with a long gun of some sort 223cal.

    • He is not a retired cop, he is a retired Lt. from lancaster State Prison. Two total different lines of work. Co’s usually will never carry a weapon.

      • Jennifer, your comment is an insult to every man and woman who risks their life on a daily basis to keep you safe. Correctional Officers are peace officers…and CO’s almost always have personal weapons at home. Prayers to the injured woman and her family.

        • Be insulted, doesn’t bother me one bit. A Lt. In a state prison is not the same as a Lt. In then police force or sheriffs dept.

          • And why is it not the same Jennifer? Do you have ANY idea of a prison peace officers job? Check the news clips. A former prison guard is being recommended to take over for sheriff lee baca when he retires. Her name is Teri McDonald. Do your homework before you embarrass yourself in a public forum again.

          • I’m sorry you’re so bitter towards correctional authority,, maybe whoever it is you’re visiting in the pen should not have gotten in trouble. But don’t take out your aggression towards the correctional law enforcement because the visiting lieutenant and Sergeant treat you guys like crap. They have to anticipate that any visitors trying to smuggle in dangerous contraband because that’s usually what visitors do. Visitors make state prisons very dangerous for the staff and other inmates to work and live at those penitentiaries when they smuggle in dangerous contraband.

      • please don’t talk about issues that you obviously have no idea about. Yes they are two totally different lines of work a C/O faces criminals hardened everyday 8-16 hours a day, while the cops lock them up and then move along with their duties. But neither to be demeaned by the other. Every C/O That I know personally (because I am from a line of correctional officers) has a weapon at home. I myself have a Glock 45, a glock nine and a shotgun in my closet. Everyone my husband and I work with also have their own guns. They’re all sworn peace officers of the state of California. The reason why we are all armed? Because we see what we work with every single day and we know what those people are capable of and we buy our weapons to protect our families. We noo its individual personally, we have worked with him for many years. It’s a travesty and I’m really sorry to hear about the situation that occurred. Certain situations happen, and no one ever knows why, we are all in shock to hear that because he was an outstanding individual to know at that time.

  8. Its a shame someone was injured and another has died. Please dont use this incident as another reason for gun control. Not everyone who owns guns is unstable. Please vote for the right to bare arms not have them taken away.

  9. You may not like guns. That’s your right. You may not believe in GOD, that’s your choice. But if something like this happens to you the first two thing you are going to do are….
    1. Call someone with a gun.
    2. Pray they get there in time.
    Think about that before you bash a cop.

  10. Wow the cops rescued someone isn’t that thier job and finally they do something good for our community and does someone know yhe name of the lady in this well glad to hear she is ok

  11. Thank God that her sons reacted fast in contacting the authorities! I think they were the heroes in saving their mom’s life. Also, think the Sheriffs did a fantastic job in securing the resident and getting the woman to the paramedics quickly. I getting to the point that I won’t argue with someone in the heat of anger. I just come into agreement with them even though I have my own way of thinking and doing things.

    Peace to all!

  13. This is a horrible event that will change many lives for ever. No blame to be set on anyone as this effects all involved and blame never takes this event back. there is no excuse for any of this to happen. Lets realize that children are involved and this will effect them indefinitely, and hopefully they can find a glass half full eventually. My prayers go out them and their families. My family was held up at gun point and the kids have recovered but I know the event will always effect them. May they all find closure and be able to move on as quickly as they can. P.S. cops are human as well as everyone else and we all can fall, we just hope someone catches them before it happens. Thank you deputies for always putting yourself in harms way and thank you to your families for supporting them.

  14. Sorry for the kids and the mom, they have probably suffered under this jerk for years.Fortunately he spared all the burden of dealing with the outcome of his behavior by ending his reign of terror.
    Deputies as always, putting themselves in harms way, you are awesome.

    • How do you know the wife did not make him the man his became? Let’s see, Kalifornia, the state where fathers have little rights. I find most of these incidents are due to the wife, not the husband. The husband is the one with the anger while women release in other ways such as alcoholism due to depression. PROVEN! So let’s see another case where the wife cheats on the husband? -legal and socially accepted here because the first person people blame is the husband, not the cheater. Then takes the kids away. I’m sorry, but any father that loves their children will not put up with this. PERIOD! I am not condoning his actions, which were wrong, however if you do not want to create a bad situation, do not push someone into a corner with no options. Even a cat will fight back in a corner. You do not have to like this logic, but it is truth. BOTTOM LINE! Most, not all victims, bring this upon themselves.

      • Hmmm, let’s see, I guess you have some issues in this area.Yes, unfortunately many women think they can love a man into sanity, they see it on the screen or read it in novels.Can’t be done. Doubt seriously she planned to be murdered and have her children traumatized, but as we all do, maybe just really bad choices.
        End of the day, he murdered her, he had the choice to leave the house and cool off if she angered him, but made the power hungry choice to kill if he didn’t get his way.
        We may not ever know the dynamics involved, I would suspect drugs or mental illness.
        The victim did not deserve to be shot and I sincerely hope someone reaches out to her and her kids to help them.

        • What if we found out later that he actually took the gun from her because she was threatening to shoot him, and in return he took it and shot her to save his own life and then out of guilt he took his own life? What say you then? All I’m saying is that there are so many different things that could have happened only those walls and those boys know. He wasn’t a jerk that I can recall. And it’s not just the boys were going to be traumatized by this situation, he had daughters of his own who meant the world to him. There’s more involved. Please have enough respect to refrain from your name calling and assumptions, I’m sure their family and friends will be reading this.

      • So a rape victim brought that on them selves??? A child who is molested brought that on themselves?? A child who is abused brought that on themselves?????? A person who is murdered by a serial killer brought that on themselves??? You said MOST Please!!!!!!!!

      • How dare you even try to blame the victim, shame on you. There is NEVER a reason to result to violence.

      • Hmmmm, let’s see, I take it you are a man. I sense a lot of hostility here. Long story short, you are a [removed]. You do not know what their relationship was like. Proven fact, most people in law enforcement, firefighters, doctors and lawyers have the highest alcoholism rate, drug addicition and spousal abuse because they cannot handle stress. Let’s see, maybe this man’s position as a rent a cop in a state prison caused this anger.

        • Wow, you don’t like men very much. Rent-a-cop? Is your girlfriend in the state pen or something?

          • Go research it online, I am in the healthcare field and there has been a lot of research on law enforcement, lawyers and medical personnel having issues with drug abuse and domestic violence.

          • I wasn’t turbine bashing men, go back and read the post when the poster more likely a male, said this Lady probably derived it because she pushed her husband too far. Funny, is my girlfriend in the pen, I am a female and I am not gay. But my husband is and that is why my sympathy for CO’s do not run to high because most are axxholes to people, especially the visiting Lt. And Sgt.

        • It is a “proven fact” that emergency workers are more prone to drug, alcohol, and spousal abuse? I would be interested to read the source of that information.

          • Go research it online, I am in the healthcare field and there has been a lot of research on law enforcement, lawyers and medical personnel having issues with drug abuse and domestic violence.

      • Actually this is my aunt this happened to and I’m a Deputy myself. Whatever ill regard you have towards women makes you look foolish posting it here. And you have no clue what the scenario was. This an extremely ignorant post.

        • I totally agree with you Megan, I’m very sorry for your Aunt. This Jennifer character is actually to ignorant to argue with. Disregard the idiots. My heart goes out to you abd your family. :'(

          • Megan Yes this Jennifer is Ignorant and crass, she does not even know the couple but goes off on how LE/CO are more likely to be abusers and alcoholics because of the stress…wow, she is just mad that her man is a criminal and the tough CO’S have to be mean just look at what they deal with on a daily basis and then for people to come to visit and try to bring in drugs and other Illegal things, shoot I would not be nice either!
            Another thing Megan, are the Sheriffs aware that people are going to the house removing property form there and the Garage? just thought I would ask because neighbors have seen people taking stuff…

    • Do not pass judgement! I personally knew the man and know the woman. They were both good people. Even good people make mistakes and even good people snap!! Just chill on passing judgement and just send condolences. Thank you

    • The man was not a jerk or a terrorist. He was a very good and likable person. He treated everyone with respect and he loved his family, children, and grandchild very much. They were arguing and he was pushed past his limit of tolerance. I am sure that this has been building up for some time between them. He is the type of person that would would walk away from conflicts if he could to cool off. Then come back to talk about the problem. I have several friends that will walk away to cool off and then come back to talk it over after they cooled off.

      • Jip joe…..you are a freaking moron. Gauranteed you would not have the balls to walk into a house with a pissed off gunman inside, who could be hiding anywhere. Let alone take the time needed to perform a rescue. Go back down into the hole you crawled out of you worthless drain on society

  17. It’s easy to forget how dangerous even just approaching a car to give a speeding ticket can be for an officer. Those guys earned their pay today. Pretty brave.