Law enforcement were called to the home in the 1000 block of West 98th Street after 6.30 p.m on Wednesday, when the murder is believed to have occurred.
The incident was initially reported as a “fight” to officers, who found a man with a head injury in the backyard of his home. The victim, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene and the suspect arrested.
Police say the victim had been letting the male suspect live on his property. The two men got into an altercation and the suspect beat him with a hammer before running away.
It is not known what prompted the incident and no further details have been released.
In November, Los Angeles reached a grim milestone of 300 homicides since the start of the year, a figure not hit since 2009.
The city has seen a surge in killings in 2020 amid an increase in gang violence as well as the coronavirus pandemic and economic fallout.
A 17-year-old boy became the 300th homicide victim when he was fatally shot while riding his motorbike near his house.
LAPD wrote on Twitter: “A number we have not seen in over a decade—300 homicides in a year. Senseless violence & tragic loss of life. Our people are doing everything they can to stop the violence, but we need your help.”
In May, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced plans to cut the LAPD’s budget by $150m. The decision came after days of protest and pressure from activists, labor unions and community groups, which also held a large demonstration outside of the mayor’s residence.
Garcetti said his desire to cut funding came alongside his hopes that the LAPD could make reforms to work on systemic racism that targets black communities.
In an internal statement to personnel, LAPD announced that several units would be disbanded, including those focused on sexual assaults, animal cruelty and homeless outreach.
The Robbery Homicide Division, Commercial Crimes Division, Metropolitan Division, Traffic Group and Labor Relations unit were all set to be reduced in size.
The memo read: “A City of Los Angeles fiscal emergency has created an unexpected Department budgetary crisis and shortfall. As a result, the Chief of Police is making significant and difficult changes to adapt to the current financial and personnel shortages.”
