Rafael Cárdenas Calles, 63, was pronounced dead at 4:41 p.m. on December 8, 2024, at a Los Angeles hospital. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office ruled the manner of death homicide, listing gunshot wounds as the cause.

Details about where or how the shooting occurred have not been publicly disclosed, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has not released further information about the investigation. A 2015 arrest by the Los Angeles Police Department for transporting or selling a narcotic controlled substance is on record for Rafael Cárdenas Calles; that arrest was reported from August 15, 2015, when he was 63.

The investigation into his death remains ongoing. Anyone with information that could help identify those responsible is asked to come forward.