Homeless Encampments Removed From Venice Park: Report

VENICE, CA — More than 60 tents were cleared out of Centennial Park in Venice this week after a growing number of fires, violent reports and a shooting incident, according to media reports.

Signs posted around the area let unhoused residents know they had to clear out by Tuesday, NBCLA reported. The park will now undergo repairs and police have said they will work with park rangers to keep unhoused campers from sleeping in the park, the Los Angeles Police Department told the station.

Tents and belongings were confiscated by the city's Recreation and Parks Department. They can be picked up by owners as long as they aren't contaminated with biohazards, the station reported.

"We had a fire here. There were shootings. There were stabbings," Yolanda Gonzalez, a resident in the area, told NBCLA. "They defecated up on my alley, which I had to clean because they had no place to do their necessities."

Read more from NBCLA: Homeless Encampments Cleared Out of Venice's Centennial Park

Some 66 people left the park and 41 were moved into interim housing, according to data from St. Joseph's Center, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported. About 33 motel placements, six Project Roomkey placement, one bridge home placement and one shared housing placement were offered to occupants of the park.