A down-and-out veteran was fatally stabbed after trying to break up a fight between a quarrelling couple at a Los Angeles-area homeless encampment, police say.
The victim died after being jabbed in the torso at least once Wednesday about 6:40 a.m. on the so-called ‘veteran’s row’, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said in a press release.
He was the second person killed by violence in the past six months in a case that's once again prompting calls to declare a state of emergency over the California city's housing crisis.
The latest victim had been attempting to intervene in a domestic dispute on the 11600 block of San Vincent Boulevard in Brentwood, an unincorporated Los Angeles neighborhood.
His suspected killer, also homeless, was arrested although the weapon was not recovered.
Veteran's Row in Los Angeles was the scene of a stabbing Wednesday that killed one veteran
Dozens of tents - many bearing the U.S. flag - line veteran’s row, which is occupied by displaced former service members.
The commune, which appears neat and orderly, sits on federal land outside the Veteran’s Affairs campus, a government agency that provides services to honorably-discharged veterans.
There were 38 vets living on the strip as of May, according to Veteran's Affairs.
GemBob Brookhyser, who lives in the encampment with his girlfriend, said he’s the one who called for help.
‘I woke up to the screams,’ he told The Los Angeles Times.
This is the second homicide to happen in the encampment in the past six months, police say
The stabbing on Wednesday was the second homicide near the encampment this year. A 34-year-old man was arrested in April after running over and killing a man living in a tent.
It prompted Los Angeles city attorney and mayoral candidate Mike Feuer to renew calls for an end to the veteran’s encampment.
‘Enough is enough, Feuer said in a press release. ‘It is time for there to be action, it is time for this encampment to end, for its residents to be housed, for the sidewalk to be cleared.’
Los Angeles sheriffs say the victim was stabbing after trying to breakup a
