The mayor of a California suburb has been allegedly shot to death by his wife.
The mayor of a California suburb has been allegedly shot to death by his wife.Reuters

The mayor of a California suburb has allegedly been shot dead by his wife, local newspapers are reporting.

According to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Crystal Hernandez, Mayor Daniel Crespo had gotten into an argument with his wife Levette Crespo when the incident took place.

She is thought to have shot the 45-year-old Mayor after the couple's son, 19, tried to intervene in their scuffle, the officer was cited as saying by BBC. Levette got a gun and shot her husband several times in the torso, and she was detained for questioning, Hernandez was quoted by media as saying.

Daniel has been the mayor of Bell Gardens, a suburb of Los Angeles, and a city council member for more than 10 years, reports have said.

He and his wife were high school sweethearts who married in 1986. According to a biography of the city's website, they met in New York.

Bell Gardens, a suburb of about 43,000, is located around 18 miles southeast of Los Angeles where Daniel was elected to the City Council in 2001. The council is a part-time job and members take turns serving as mayor, CBS News noted.

The city's website had posted an image of a black bow and a statement from Mayor Pro Tem Priscilla Flores and three council members saying the shooting did not have any relation with Daniel's mayoral activities.

"Our thoughts and prayers should be with Mayor Crespo's family at this tragic time," the statement read.