Authorities are investigating after a body was discovered under a bridge in Playa del Rey on Saturday.
The body was found in a “shed-like structure in a concealed space” below the Culver Boulevard bridge shortly before 11 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The remains were identified as an approximately 40-year-old man.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, as of early Sunday afternoon, the case is being handled as a homicide investigation; the victim was found to have been struck by gunfire.
When authorities arrived at the scene, they encountered a foul odor that led them to a livable structure built into the rafters and pipes beneath the bridge.
Rescue crews worked to extricate the man from the confined space near the Ballona Creek flood control channel but said access to the shed proved difficult. The location was approximately 20 feet above “slow-moving 10-15 feet deep tidal water.”
“If you look underneath the bridge, it appears to be that there was maybe a room that was created,” said LAPD Lt. Letisia Ruiz of the approximately 10’x10′ structure.
Residents who live in the area said there are all kinds of encampments that can be found underneath the bridges that stretch across Ballona Creek.
“I’m not surprised,” said local resident, Andrea Schainen. “I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often with as many homeless who live underneath the bridges.”
The investigation remains ongoing.