Source: Pacific Press / Getty
It's no secret that crime in New York City started to skyrocket during the COVID pandemic a few years ago. While it's been on the decline since then, things may be getting a little safer now that authorities have rounded up 30 alleged gang members who turned Washington Heights and Inwood into a war zone.
According to the GothamistThe NYPD announced that it has indicted 30 alleged gang members it says are responsible for about half of the shootings in Inwood and Washington Heights and has hit them with a range of charges including conspiracy to commit violence, weapons possession, attempted murder. and murder. While one might think these are just wild kids looking to gain street cred, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says it stems from a years-long rivalry between two street gangs that turned deadly in 2018.
Per the Gothamist:
“The violence did not only affect these defendants and their associates,” Bragg said at a news conference detailing the indictment. “It affected the whole neighborhood, [creating] a climate of fear among ordinary residents who did not participate in this violence.”
Bragg said all of the shootings cited in the charges were sparked by an alleged gangland killing in 2018. The incident sparked 18 retaliatory shootings that claimed seven lives, including innocent bystanders, Bragg said.
Bragg blamed gang warfare for about 50 percent of all shootings this year in the 33rd and 34th arrondissements, which include much of Washington Heights and Inwood in Uptown Manhattan.
Well, at least the residents of Inwood and Washington Heights can rest a little easier now, knowing that the gang protesters in their neighborhood have been taken into custody, but that the PTSD may stay with them for a long time.
Stay safe on these roads.
