Mark Anthony Kador Sr., 43

Mark Anthony Kador Sr., a 43-year-old black man, died Saturday, June 9, after he was shot in the 44700 block of 27th Street East in Lancaster, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

Witnesses said Kador was acting peculiarly late that afternoon, standing in the street and taunting people driving by East Lancaster Boulevard and 27th Street East, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Derrick Alfred. 

At one point, Kador allegedly tried to open the door of a woman's car when she stopped at the stop sign, Alfred said, and when he couldn’t get in, he banged on windows and jumped on the hood.

About 5:30 p.m., a man who was working on a car near the intersection noticed Kador trying to break into parked cars across 27th Street East, Alfred said. He shouted at Kador, asking what he was doing, and then noticed that Kador had a knife, Alfred said. 

Kador turned toward the man, Alfred said, and began walking toward him with the knife in his hand. At that point, the man took a semi-automatic handgun out of his car and told Kador to go away.

“He said [Kador] had this crazy look in his eye, and he told him multiple times, ‘I don’t want to shoot you,’ but he kept coming toward him, so he shot him twice,” Alfred said. 

Kador was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6:01 p.m., according to coroner’s records. The cause of death was listed as a gunshot wound to the chest. 

The shooter, a Latino in his early 20s, stayed at the scene, where he was questioned by investigators and then released, Alfred said. 

Investigators will present information to the district attorney’s office to decide whether charges should be filed against the gunman, who lives a few blocks from where the shooting occurred, Alfred said. 

“His claim is self-defense, and there are multiple witnesses who support his claim,” Alfred said. “He is a local, he doesn’t have any criminal record and he’s not a flight risk, so we didn't arrest him. It will be up to the D.A. to determine whether this was a justifiable homicide.”

Investigators have little information about Kador. He lived in Palmdale, Alfred said, but investigators don’t know how he came to be in Lancaster. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.  

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.