LOS ANGELES — Several vehicles, including shuttle buses, were damaged by thieves looking for gasoline, causing damage estimated at thousands of dollars near the Arrowhead Gardens Senior Living Apartments at 2nd Avenue and Myers Way.

Residents believe the cause is the return of a notoriously problematic homeless camp.

KOMO News first reported on the camp last year, which had previously seen shootings and a murder before it was finally cleared last September.

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Despite all efforts to keep the area clear, residents now report that the problem has occurred again.

“I really thought this was over, and then it happens again,” said Herb Egge, who lives in the area. “Now I’m at the point where I have to move. I don’t feel safe here.”

Egge said his gas tank had holes drilled in it and his car damaged five times in the last year.

“Replacing the gas tank alone cost $800,” Egge said.

Other residents reported that the same thing happened to their vehicles, and four Hyde shuttle buses, which are normally parked in the parking lot outside the senior living complex, were also damaged by gas thieves.

King County Metro said the contractor who operates these shuttles is still assessing the damage and will no longer use the parking lot.

Although it is not known who the culprit is, local residents believe the problems are related to a problematic camp that has resurfaced in the area.

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“When the cleanup was done and the camp was gone and there was no parking on the streets, everything was nice and peaceful and quiet. But then recently, when this group slowly came and stayed, we noticed property damage again,” said Diane Radischat, who lives in the area.

The camp, which led to a number of security problems for residents, even had a swimming pool at one point and was the scene of shootings and a murder.

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After months of problems, several state and local agencies tried to clear the camp, provide services to residents there and put up fences and signs to prevent residents from returning. But now residents say the RVs and other vehicles have been there for several weeks.

“They committed to doing things for us in the future and that has now been forgotten,” said Radischat. “Let us go back to the commitments that are not being kept, because we will not back out again.”