30 suspected gang members indicted by Manhattan district attorney's office
NEW YORK — Thirty suspected gang members across three separate crews have been indicted by the Manhattan district attorney's office.
Investigators say the group is responsible for half of the shootings in two Upper Manhattan neighborhoods this year.
3 crews responsible for 50% of shootings in Washington Heights, Inwood
DA Alvin Bragg says the groups committed fatal and horrific gun violence in Inwood and Washington Heights.
"The specific conduct and indictments began in 2018 and includes 18 shootings, during which seven people were killed, including several innocent bystanders," Bragg said Thursday.
One of those bystanders includes a 66-year-old victim who was shot and killed outside a Washington Heights deli in May of 2023.
Bragg says these groups are responsible for approximately 50% of shootings in Washington Heights and Inwood so far this year, including an Inwood shooting that took place in June in which two men were killed and another victim was injured.
Gun violence advocate says gang violence creates community trauma
"It's sad. It's sad to see those arrests," said gun violence advocate Joseph Sanchez.
Sanchez has lived in Washington Heights his entire life and says the gang violence creates community trauma.
"You're not just dealing with a kid that shot somebody else's son, which is traumatic in itself. But you're dealing with a sister, you're dealing with a mother, you're dealing with a school, you're dealing with a community, you're dealing with a bodega, that people are scared," he said.
According to NYPD data, the number of shooting victims in Manhattan North, which includes Washington Heights and Inwood, is down by 9.2% compared to 2023; there have been 118 shooting victims so far this year, versus 130 at the same time last year.
