Grandfather dies after being assaulted in Jack in the Box parking lot in Lancaster; homicide detectives investigating

LANCASTER, Calif. -- (KTLA) -- Homicide detectives were investigating after an assailant fatally struck a grandfather in the parking lot of a Jack in the Box in Lancaster Thursday afternoon.

Deputies responded to the fast-food chain's location at 43628 10th St. W. around 12:45 p.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Scott Hoglund said.

The incident began with a champagne-colored, four-door sedan pulling into the parking area. A man got out of the car and confronted the victim, according to Hoglund.

A brief altercation ensued, during which the aggressor apparently assaulted the victim. The lieutenant said he was not aware of any weapons being used.

The suspect vehicle then fled the scene, heading north on 10th Street West, investigators said.

Responding deputies found the victim on the ground suffering from "obvious trauma," a Sheriff's Department news release states. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities described the victim as a white man in his early 60s. The suspect is a black man, Hoglund said.