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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Hispanic gangs feud in weekend stabbing, machete attack


MS13 gang tag spotted at 6th & Arlington.

Plainfield, it appears, is also facing rising violence among Latino gangs, as witness two incidents from this past weekend.

I am told that the stabbing incident on West Front Street on Saturday reported in Plainfield Today on Sunday (see here) and in the Ledger today (see here) was gang-related.

Saturday's stabbing (and stomping) is said to be by members of a local branch of MS13 who attacked a man said to be a member of the 18th Street Gang.

On Sunday afternoon an Hispanic male said to be a member of MS13 was attacked in the 500-block of West Front Street by a group of Hispanic males, one of them hacking his arm with a machete and nearly severing it.

This attack, not yet publicly reported, is said to be by members of the 18th Street Gang in retaliation for Saturday's attack.

I am also told that a previous incident on North Avenue several weeks ago may be related to the same feuding groups.


Tag showing MS13 as killers of 18th Street Gang.
MS13, or Mara Salvatrucha (see here) is a gang that originated in Los Angeles but is now found countrywide, also being involved in the deadly drug wars taking place in the Mexican states along the border with the U.S.



18th Street gang tag.
The 18th Street Gang also originated in Los Angeles (see here) and has spread throughout the U.S. as well. It is sometimes referred to as 'The Children's Army' because of its recruitment of school-age youngsters.

While these two gangs may operate relatively invisibly from the point of the view of Plainfield's dominant 'Anglo' culture, we do not yet have any idea of their impact on the city's growing Latino community.

Meanwhile, as the Robinson-Briggs administration contemplates making the expensive (starting at $1M, with annual fees of $100,00 or so) foray into gun-spotting technology, it is important to note that NEITHER of these incidents involved guns.

ShotSpotter, it seems, will be no defense against machetes and knives.



-- Dan Damon [follow]

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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about access to CIA spy sattelites that could watch the 6 plus mile area and report on the glint of cold steel while at the same time taking pictures of the perps, making arrest and prosecution a cinch! Oh, I am sorry, that is only in the movies! By the way, good luck getting witnesses against these two groups!

Bob said...

I didn't know Plainfield had a dominant "anglo" culture, being a white minority here for the past 26 years. I do know we need to deal with the gangs and if that means removing them from the city, one way or the other, then let's do it.

Rebecca Williams said...

Dan,

Instead of paying for the Shot Spotter technology's maintenance of $100,000 year, I would rather hire two additional police officers to work the streets.

Rebecca

Blackdog said...

The Mexican drug wars . . . 28,000 dead so far? We have a lot to look forward to, don't we . . . . . .

Anonymous said...

Don't you just love the History Channel and their show "Gangland", for glorifying gang life for our children, and making heroes out of criminals!

Rob said...

DAN..hello...Sharon is battling the gangs with the fliers..remember???
But...new rumor on the street..The gangs have bought paper shredders. I told you I didn't know how this was going to go down, but it looks like it might have taken a turn for the worst. Paper vs. Shredder..Can Sharon possibly compete ??? Madness I tell you..MADNESS! If only we had a shinning example of good, mature, responsible and ethical behavior in Plainfield..BUT WAIT THERE'S JERRY..oh, never mind..I read his childish blog again.

Dan said...

Bob -- White, Black or green, to Latinos the dominant culture is simply 'Anglo'. It's about looking down the other end of the paper tube.

Blackdog said...

Half of my family was here before the Europeans, (and I am taking into consideration the Norse, the Welsh, and everyone else who beat Columbus), and they, the Mohawks, had to learn English even though they were here first. One language makes it so much easier. You want to see a real mess, go to Quebec for vacation! Or Plainfield traffic court!

Anonymous said...

I don't know why the Latinos see this as an Anglo culture, heck, you cannot go into a grocery store, a convenience store, McDonalds, KFC or Burger King in Plainfield without patience and at least a smattering of Spanish. As of the present, you can still use English at City Hall and the Police Dept, but who knows how long that will last!

Anonymous said...

Of course Ms. Williams doesn't want to spend on shot spotter. There's no shootings where she lives. Maybe she'd like two more cops to come when HER neighbors call. And by the way... two new officers cost more than 50,000 apiece when you consider pension and benefit costs. Maybe you'd know that if you'd been involved with city government other than getting paid to get people elected.

Anonymous said...

Anon , august 26 11:53, I am utterly in awe of your ability to actually see what anon 4:04 was thinking when he wrote that piece! Genocide, I didn't even see that, I would never have known! Also nothing at all was said about immigrants immediately learning English. Sometimes it took two or three generations, but there was an effort on the part of the new arrivals at least to give it a good try!

The new immigrant's children are doing well with English because they are starting to learn at a very early age. While the quality of their Spanish is limited by the poor education of their parents. As a friend of mine from Barcelona, who has spent several years here has told me that it gives him a headache sometimes the way the central americans and mexicans have corrupted such a beautiful language!!!! And it was Blackdog who was talking about the Mohawks learning English! I wonder if he would like you calling him native american, I believe they prefer to be called Indians, or just the People!