Venice Beach Now Looks Like Mad Max During A Zombie Apocolypse Thanks To The Homeless Epidemic

Residents in Los Angeles' coastal Venice neighborhood are calling for action over homeless encampments in the area that have been connected to a string of crimes, including shootings, fights, fires and drug use.

The city as a whole is grappling with a homeless crisis that has only gotten worse in recent years. Over five years, the homeless population has increased by half, according to a January report released by the Luskin Center for History and Policy at the University of California in Los Angeles.

In Venice, some of the more violent incidents alarming residents and business owners include an April 28 shooting in which a man was shot but survived. No suspects have been identified, the Los Angeles Police Department told Fox News. Another includes a Monday explosion inside an encampment that caused a fire.

The incidents are the latest of several chaotic events that have prompted concern from residents over the expansion of homeless encampments along the city's famous boardwalk – Ocean Front Walk – and elsewhere in a neighborhood known for its beach and canals, which draw visitors from all over the region.

Thousands of people flock to Venice each day to enjoy themselves on Venice beach and the boardwalk, a promenade filled with shops, restaurants, art vendors, side-show acts and street performers. During the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 200 tents have been erected on the boardwalk, according to a letter signed by hundreds of residents to city and county officials this week.