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William Forrest Spargur, 36

William Forrest Spargur II, a 36-year-old white man, was shot and killed by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies on Friday, Nov. 7, near Rancho Vista Boulevard and Cricket Lane in Palmdale, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Shortly before 4 a.m., deputies received a call of a possibly suicidal man with a gun, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Department. 

When deputies arrived, Spargur allegedly pointed a gun at them and a deputy-involved shooting occurred. 

Spargur was pronounced dead at 3:51 a.m. at the scene, according to coroner’s records. A gun was recovered at the scene, authorities said. 

Coroner’s records show that Spargur was talking with a friend on Facebook making suicidal remarks and the friend called authorities.

Spargur was a U.S. Army veteran assigned as an infantryman to multiple combat tours, some overseas, according to an online obituary.

After leaving the army, he worked as a nurse at several medical facilities, most recently Southern Kern County Hospital, according to the obituary.

Several people on The Antelope Valley Times' Facebook page mentioned that Spargur suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"He was a father, he was a service member stricken with PTSD," wrote one friend. "He was a man who felt the world had crashed down around him. He was that 22nd veteran that daily kills himself because he was cast aside by the system that made him that way."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

-- Taylor Goldenstein

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