Nathen Taylor, 26 [Update]

Nathen Taylor, a 26-year-old black man, was fatally shot Saturday, April 21, in the 700 block of West Avenue H in Lancaster, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Taylor was shot about 12:10 a.m. as he sat in the driver's seat of a car parked in front of a house, said L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Guillermina Saldana.

While Taylor was in the vehicle, several men walked up to the car, one "fired several rounds," and the victim was "fatally shot in the upper torso," said Saldana.

He was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. No one else was in the car.

Taylor’s friends and family told KTLA-TV that Taylor was an Army veteran and father who survived three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He was a student at Antelope Valley College and was not involved in gangs.

"He didn't gang-bang or anything," said Jack Garcia, a family friend. "He was a role model."

"That's why I think it was a case of mistaken identity or something," Garcia added. "No one knows why."

Anyone with details about the killing is asked to call the sheriff's homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

[Updated May 29: $20,000 reward offered in slaying of ex-Army sergeant in Lancaster]

--Stephen Ceasar and Kenneth R. Weiss