As homelessness continues to destroy America’s second most-populated city, two guys fought one other with a steel rod and a shopping cart on the Venice Beach beachfront in Los Angeles.
A shirtless guy took up a metal rod from the ground and threatened to swing it like a baseball bat at another man who was using his own skateboard for protection, according to a video uploaded on Reddit on Tuesday.
‘Do it! Do it b****! ‘Do it!’ shouted the skateboarder at the guy. Both people momentarily circled each other before the guy flung the pole at the other’s feet.
You should go right now! B****, you’d best get moving! ‘You better go,’ said the skateboarder who snatched the pole from the ground and a camp of homeless people watching the struggle.
The half-naked guy then ran along the boardwalk in a panic, trying to find anything to protect himself with. He finds an abandoned and old shopping cart and quickly raises it over his head to defend himself from the skateboarder’s approaching strike.
The shirtless guy then tossed the shopping cart at the skateboarder before hurling the metal pole at his feet.
He then fled for his life when the skateboarder, who was dressed entirely in black and had a black face mask, picked up the metal rod from the ground.
As the footage fades off, it’s unknown what occurred next. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has been approached by DailyMail.com for comment on the event. Los Angeles is one of several US cities dealing with an increase in homelessness and massive encampments strewn along sidewalks, which has caused public outrage.
Previous Monday, Martha Alvarez of the Los Angeles Unified School District informed the city council that during the last year, 120 schools had homeless encampments detected near them.
Two individuals were detained and three cops were hurt during a protest on Tuesday after the Los Angeles City Council imposed a ban on homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and childcare facilities.
The final decision of 11-3, which applies to both public and private schools, came after the meeting was adjourned owing to hundreds of demonstrators yelling their disapproval as police exited the council room.
The police confrontation started when one lady began yelling at the council and abruptly moved across the seats towards the municipal officials, prompting policemen to intervene while protestors screamed at them.
Officials stated members of the crowd encircled the policemen as they attempted to arrest the unnamed lady, with activist Ricci Sergienko physically intervening and enabling the woman to go.
One sergeant and two Security Service Division officers in charge of public safety at City Hall were hurt during the incident.
The incident comes a week after a similar protest disrupted the bill’s initial vote, which must be signed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti before it takes effect.
Supporters of the blanket ban argue that homeless camps pose health and safety risks to schoolchildren, particularly due to the disruptive presence of persons suffering from drug addictions or mental illnesses.
Before voting on the bill, Councilmember Paul Koretz said, ‘This is something to safeguard youngsters in our community.’ He believes that ‘asking persons in an encampment to relocate a few hundred feet’ should be an easy option if it ensures safer walks to and from school for youngsters.
According to the Los Angeles Times, there are over 750 public school locations inside city borders, with almost 1,000 commercial day-care facilities registered with the city. The new school year begins on August 15.
Opponents, including homeless organizations, said the bill would criminalize homelessness even further.
According to the group People Assisting The Homeless, or PATH, homeless persons are significantly more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.
‘Enforcing anti-camping regulations, therefore, just displaces individuals and makes it more difficult for skilled outreach professionals to rebuild trust,’ the organisation added.
The prohibition comes as some hotels prepare to exit the government’s Project Roomkey, which compensated businesses to furnish hundreds of rooms to homeless people.
The initiative is being debated as crime in Los Angeles continues to climb, with several high-profile incidences involving vagrants assaulting law-abiding individuals.
Robberies have increased 20 percent in the city, from 4,753 instances so far this year to 5,705 in 2022.
Assaults have also increased by 1.6 percent, while the number of gunshot victims has increased by about 1%.
Despite a decline in killings and rapes so far this year, total violent crime is up 5.7 percent.