Crime spike in one L.A. neighborhood has several residents on edge

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11) - There's been a number of crimes in the area of Melrose and Gardner in the city of Los Angeles recently that has several residents on edge.

Video put out by the Melrose Action Neighborhood Watch is a call for action, and there is a lot happening here with what police believe are several crews of people up to no good.

In one video, a male victim is seen walking on the street near the Melrose Corridor during the day when at least four suspects attacked him before a Good Samaritan scared the suspects away with a machete.

"It makes me a little bit paranoid of like, just being always aware now of who's around me," said Jackie Lee an area resident.

There are some 2,000 neighbors in the Melrose Action Neighborhood Watch group and they aren't happy with what they're seeing.

"Not enough safety. We want the city to, you know, our city councilmember, to get more involved in the community. We fill that they've been absent," said the Melrose Action Neighborhood Watch coordinator who did not want to be identified.

"Also, I would like more police support. I would like more visibility," Lee said.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz who represents this district released the following statement:

"My top priority continues to be public safety. As such, I have pushed multiple initiatives which have increased officers on patrol. These include the return of a percentage of officers from specialized units back to patrol, as well as filling desk jobs that were once held by sworn officers with civilians so that sworn officers can deploy back to the streets of the City of Los Angeles."

"Unfortunately, there has been a small uptick in robberies, but we are down in aggravated assaults. As an upside and display of our commitment to crime suppression and bringing these types of criminals to justice, as of Thursday afternoon, our officers took into custody three suspects that are believed to be tied to several robberies in the area."

"I have advocated for and received additional patrols for the Melrose area and additional police resources. These include a second permanent patrol car which has been deployed to the area, and all available uniformed and undercover officers are being made available to address the problems around robberies."

"I have pulled all the stops and have asked for all resources to be brought to bear in the Melrose Corridor."

"My other message to residents of the area is that LAPD depends on the public to report these incidents whenever they happen. That's how the police know how to best deploy their resources."