LOS ANGELES — The killing of an unhoused man by a neighbor allegedly angered by nearby encampments is raising new concerns among community leaders about how frustration over homelessness is playing out on the ground in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors say the 23-year-old suspect carried out an unprovoked attack, targeting a man living near his home — a case that has unsettled advocates who warn that rising tensions between housed and unhoused residents may be reaching a dangerous tipping point.
“This is not just about one incident,” said Eric Tars, legal director at the National Homelessness Law Center. “It reflects a broader climate where policies and rhetoric are making it acceptable to treat people experiencing homelessness as less than human.”
Across Los Angeles, homelessness remains one of the city’s most polarizing challenges, with encampments often becoming flashpoints in neighborhoods already strained by housing costs, public safety concerns and limited resources.
But advocates say the public focus on encampments can obscure a deeper reality: people experiencing homelessness are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.
Nowhere is that tension more visible than on Skid Row, where thousands of unhoused residents live in close proximity and long-standing gaps in housing and services leave many exposed.
For Pastor Cue Jn-Marie, a longtime community leader, those gaps are not abstract — they can be life-threatening.
“Housing delayed is housing denied,” he said.
Those vulnerabilities, advocates say, are not confined to downtown.
In nearby Orange County, Patrick Hogan — who has experienced homelessness — said hostility toward unhoused people often shows up in quieter but equally harmful ways.
“There’s definitely an undercurrent of hatred toward the homeless — but you see it in different ways,” Hogan said.
He described being discharged from a hospital without a plan after staff learned he did not have stable housing.
“There’s no plan,” he said. “You’re just out.”
Advocates say those kinds of experiences highlight how systemic gaps can deepen instability, leaving people more vulnerable not only to illness, but to violence.
At the same time, public attitudes toward homelessness are increasingly shaped by what people see — and hear.
Online videos frequently capture people in moments of crisis, while political rhetoric and media commentary can reinforce negative perceptions. Advocates warn that those narratives can influence how communities respond.
Mark Horvath, founder of Invisible People, a national nonprofit that documents and reports on homelessness, has warned that dehumanizing portrayals can shape public behavior, not just opinion.
In one widely criticized moment, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade suggested that mentally ill people experiencing homelessness who refuse treatment could face “involuntary lethal injection,” adding, “Just kill ’em.” He later apologized.
Advocates say rhetoric like that, even when walked back, reflects a broader shift.
What begins as frustration over encampments, they say, can harden into fear — and, in extreme cases, justify harmful actions.
For Hogan, the Los Angeles killing reflects that escalation.
“This guy can’t put a tent in front of someone’s house — so why go out and kill him?” he said. “What are you afraid of?”
As Los Angeles continues to grapple with homelessness, community leaders say the challenge is not only addressing the crisis itself but preventing frustration from turning into something more dangerous.
“This is about how we see each other,” Hogan said. “At the end of the day, these are still people.”