LAPD Investigating After Man Found Dead At Venice Beach Boardwalk Encampment

VENICE (CBSLA) — Los Angeles police Friday were investigating after a man was found dead in a tent at a homeless encampment near the intersection of Ocean Front Walk and Dudley Avenue in Venice.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers were called to the encampment at about 3:20 p.m. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man in his late 40s suffering from blunt force trauma to the head inside of a tent.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said the man died at the scene. Police said they did not believe it was gang related.

Family members identified the victim as 49-year-old Michael Hall. They said he had just moved into the encampment a few weeks ago and believed that his death was the result of a love triangle.

Mark Ryavec leads the Venice Stakeholders Association and is critical of how Councilman Mike Bonin has handled the crisis in the city. He is now backing a controversial plan by Sheriff Alex Villanueva to address the situation.

"I put my money on the sheriff that he's the one that's gonna stop these barbaric conditions, these Third World conditions here, that produce a situation where one homeless person will hack another homeless person to death with a hatchet," he said. "That has to stop. It has to stop not only for these folks that are living out here so they will be safe, but it has to stop for the visitors and it has to stop for the residents."

Bonin recently announced a plan to house nearly 200 people within six weeks, though locals have been critical of the plan and the timing.

Authorities did not immediately release any information about a possible suspect.