PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Police have arrested a 27-year-old man after a woman was shot and killed Tuesday night in Portsmouth.

Police said the shooting” happened around 5:34 p.m. near the 2100 block of Pearl Street.

Officers arrived at the scene and found a woman with a fatal gunshot wound.

Police on Wednesday released an update saying the woman was 27-year-old Auriel McLaurin. Next of kin has been notified.

Police say 27-year-old Ryan Darel Winfield turned himself into police early Thursday. He is charged with second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, shooting into an occupied dwelling and shooting in the commission of a felony.

10 On Your Side spoke with friends of McLaurin’s who say she was a loving mother and loyal friend.

“I don’t understand people… How they can do such a terrible thing and keep on living like it’s OK?” said Shana Burnell, McLaurin’s friend.

“That’s disrespectful. That person, to even want to take such a sweet soul, it doesn’t matter what goes on or what caused it. We don’t know, but it’s nothing a simple conversation couldn’t have solved,” Burnell said.

She tells WAVY News her friend McLaurin had several young children and would have done anything to protect them.

“She was a good mom. She took care of them, obviously. Her kids were her main priority, her main responsibility,” she said.

Friends say a bright light was taken from Portsmouth Tuesday evening when McLaurin was killed, and her alleged killer is somewhere in the darkness left behind. Police were still working to find Winfield as of Wednesday night.

“They took an angel. They took a friend. They took a mother. They took a sister. They took a family member. They took a life… and you know I don’t see how they can sleep,” Burnell said.

Stay with WAVY.com for updates.