The number of homeless homicide victims in Los Angeles is on the rise. While 1% of the city’s population lives on the streets or in shelters, homeless people accounted for about 17% of its homicide victims during 2019.
Forty-two unhoused people have been the victims of homicide in 2019, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. That’s up from 39 in 2018 and 22 in 2016 — even as the overall number of homicides in the city has decreased in recent years.
People who live outdoors “are the most vulnerable people in our city to be victimized by crime,” said LAPD Commander and Homeless Coordinator Donald Graham. In about two-thirds of the homicides involving homeless victims in 2019, the suspects were also homeless.
So many strangers sharing sidewalks can lead to conflicts, Graham said.
“Everyone involved here is suffering from at least a minor form of PTSD,” he said. “When there is a fight over territory or property, all of that becomes so magnified. That’s what our detectives are seeing out there.”
The increase in homeless homicide victims has been tracked to an overall rise in homelessness.