Man shot and killed in Palmdale [update: victim, suspect ID’d]

PALMDALE – A man was shot and killed and a woman taken into custody in Palmdale Friday afternoon.

The shooting was reported at 1:47 p.m. in the 200 block of East Avenue R-3, according to a dispatcher at the sheriff’s Palmdale Station.

The man was pronounced dead at a hospital, a sergeant at the station said.

The victim’s identity has not yet been released pending next of kin notification, coroner’s officials said late Friday night.

Following the shooting, about two dozen sheriff’s deputies surrounded a Palmdale home and gave orders for a female suspect to surrender, but the woman remained inside the home for at least 30 minutes, according to witnesses at the scene. Deputies eventually made entry into the home, and the woman was subsequently taken into custody, witnesses at the scene said.

Sheriff’s officials did not release the name of the female suspect Friday afternoon, and homicide detectives at the scene would not disclose any details on the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

A neighbor at the scene said the suspect and victim were a couple, and the two could be heard arguing all the time. Sheriff’s officials would not confirm this information.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).

UPDATED 9.5.15: VICTIM, SUSPECT IDENTIFIED

The shooting victim has been identified as 40-year-old James McQuater, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. McQuater was found lying on the street across from the residence suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper torso. He was transported to the hospital where he died of his injuries.

McQuater’s wife, Angelique Spurlock, was arrested at the scene without incident, according to the news release. She was booked on suspicion of murder and she is being held on $1 million bail. The murder weapon was recovered at the location, detectives said in the news release. Read the full news release here.

UPDATED 9.10.15: Angelique Spurlock and James McQuater were not married, but the two lived together and were in a relationship, according to the District Attorney’s office. Read our follow-up story here.

–