The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and detectives with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau are investigating a dead body that was found in a vehicle parked at the Valencia Town Center on Wednesday morning.
The initial circumstances appeared to indicate a possible suicide, based on the preliminary information available.
Deputies were dispatched to the 24200 block of Town Center Drive, in the mall’s parking lot, between the Chick Fil-A and the former site of the Canyon Club at 11:13 a.m., according to station officials.
A man was found deceased with a shattered window in the car and a firearm inside, according to Shirley Miller, a spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station.
Sgt. Juan Muralles, who was one of the responding deputies, said the initial call involved a possibly suspicious vehicle.
Once deputies determined the nature of the investigation, the parking lot area was cordoned off with police tape, and the Homicide Bureau was contacted.
Muralles said he could not reveal any additional information, including the make of the vehicle where the person was found, as the incident is now part of a Homicide Bureau investigation. An official on the scene confirmed the appearance of the incident looked like a possible suicide.
Homicide Bureau detectives will make the department’s official determination of the circumstances, Miller said.
The L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Office had not yet released the identity of the decedent as of this story’s publication.
This is a breaking news story, and more information will be released as it becomes available.
Signal Staff Writer Katherine Quezada contributed to this report.
