Gang War Breaks out, 37 dead.
Los Angeles - Last night, several conflicts between many of the city's largest gangs broke out across the city. Hostilities have been building up for the last several days between the city's gangs, and those hostilities broke out into violence after dusk. The gang war resulted in the death of 29 known gang members, and additional 8 innocent bystanders. The police, forewarned about the possibility of a gang war, put up a curfew that night and were able to strike quickly, stopping a majority of the problem situations. The war ended when the National Guard was brought in to calm things down, which arrived shortly after midnight.
The basic reason for this war was the growing hostilities between the gangs. "Several gangs have been attacking each other in the last few weeks, with the attacks becoming increasingly more violent. Each side it seemed was out for vengeance against all others for any insult, real or imagined. This paranoia has also extended into the city's Mobs and white collar criminals, which contributed to last night's wars as well, " say Detective Gregory Miller, one of the police officers in charge of this situation. Unfortunately Detective Miller is unable to give us a direct cause for the war. "It's not a situation where one single event triggered the riots. It's a combination of several things, different gangs attacking each other at once, increased violence in certain community's, important criminal leaders no longer in their positions of power. It all just lead up to one big war."
Despite the death toll, Police Chief Bernard Hawks feels that the situation would have been worse. "We knew it was going to happen. Due to informants and just the general air of the climate out there, we knew it was coming. There was no way to stop it completely but we were able to contain it until the National Guard arrived. One informant let us know that the Bloods would be striking out that evening, only five hours before dusk. It was enough time to prepare." Because of the LAPD's quick movement, most of the major crime scenes were contained. The death toll would have been double to triple the amount without the LAPD's timely intervention.
Another major factor in stopping last night's riots was the Order of Freedom and Justice. Apparently only three members; Guardian, Maelstorm, and Sekhmet, were in the city last night. But these three were all over the city assisting police in stopping the riots. "They were essential to us last night," says Bernard Parks. "Without them, it would have been a lot worse."
The police believe the situation to be over at this time. Most of the problem situations have been handled, and those gang leaders who were responsible are currently under arrest.
—Lionel Green
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Copyright © 2000 Adam Fisher.
