Homeless Encampment Found on Roof of Los Angeles Bus Stop
A homeless encampment appeared in an unusual place in Los Angeles this week: on top of a bus stop shelter.
A viewer sent KTLA a photo showing a man lying on the roof of the shelter near South Barrington Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard in Brentwood. A shopping cart and other belongings had also been hauled onto the structure.
The stop sits along one of the neighborhood’s busy commercial corridors and is used by multiple bus operators. What the viewer captured was not simply someone climbing onto the shelter temporarily. The collection of belongings spread across the roof gave the space the appearance of a makeshift campsite.
KTLA sent a photographer to the location Monday and found the scene still there. By Monday afternoon, the office of Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park told the station that homeless outreach, a staff member and the sanitation department had been sent to the location.
Above The Stop
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Video from the scene shows the man stretched across the top of the shelter beside the cart and other items, several feet above the sidewalk.
The shelter’s location also created some confusion over who was responsible for it. Metro told KTLA that most bus stops in Los Angeles — including the one at Wilshire and Barrington — are owned and maintained by the city rather than Metro.
That arrangement is consistent with the city’s broader transit-infrastructure system. StreetsLA oversees city programs involving bus shelters and other sidewalk transit amenities, including an ongoing effort to install thousands of new shelters across Los Angeles.
A Wider Problem
The rooftop scene comes as Los Angeles continues to contend with tens of thousands of people living without permanent housing.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority estimated that 45,194 people were experiencing homelessness in the City of Los Angeles during its 2026 count. Of those, an estimated 29,115 were unsheltered.
Those estimates were up from the previous year, although LAHSA said the overall change was not statistically significant.
It was not immediately clear how long the rooftop encampment had been in place or what happened after outreach and sanitation personnel arrived.
