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Thursday, July 28, 2011

Does latest shooting mean Plainfield gang truce has broken down?


Map of Tuesday's shooting incident at Hannah Atkins Park.
A shooting incident Tuesday afternoon on the Plainfield Avenue side of Hannah Atkins Park raises the question of whether the 'gang truce' of recent weeks is beginning to fail.

Mark Spivey's coverage in the Courier (see today's update here, original story here) outlines the incident police are continuing to investigate.

While the story reports the shooter using a 'vacant' lot across Plainfield Avenue from the pool to shoot from, the only lot on that corner is not really 'vacant' but is auxiliary parking for Shiloh Baptist Church arranged with the city when the new church was built a number of years ago.

The so-called 'gang truce' involves two gangs that have often been in violent conflict -- including several homicides -- in the West End, often referred to as the 'Liberty Street Gang' and the 'West 2nd Street Gang'.

A cross-town gang centered on East 6th Street and the Bryant School Playground has not been part of the truce, and shootings have taken place between it and the 'Liberty Street Gang' (see here), once as students from the TEAMS Charter School housed at Shiloh Baptist Church were present.

The Hannah Atkins Park area is considered
'Liberty Street Gang' turf and the question occurs to me whether the shooting is a sign the truce between the two West End gangs is breaking down or whether the shooting was another incursion from the 'East 6th Street Posse', which is not party to the 'truce'.

Hopefully, the police will quickly solve the shooting and the motives for it.



-- Dan Damon [follow]

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6 comments:

Rebecca Williams said...

Regarding this so-called "gang truce"--a truce means a temporary stoppage. I guess no one told the children playing in the pool that the truce was over. And, a truce between "some" members of rival gangs means nothing to a community that still feels terrorized.

What needs to happen is for anyone with information to provide it to the police. It is inconceivable that folks don't know who some of these potential killers (people with guns are potential killers) are.

Rebecca

Anonymous said...

Waffles for Weapons campaign starts Saturday

Anonymous said...

I agree with Rebecca. Hopefully, the residents in the area will get sick and tired of living in fear, and will not only cooperate with the police, but also make it uncomfortable for the low lifes to be there.

If you see someone who you even THINK will cause a problem, call the police.

Anonymous said...

our GOP gov christie should show some balls and roll in the national guard on these a-holes. this area has become a war zone, so it needs military-style policing. soldiers with M16s on every corner would disuade most of these 18 year old wanna-be gangbanger kids from shooting each other and the neighborhood up. come on mr tough-on-crime, former prosecutor, christie...do some battle against criminals instead of teachers for goodness sake.

yours truly,
where's the beef

Keeping it Real said...

It's time to call in the National Guard, get the State Attorney General and Governor's office involved.

This City is falling apart slowly but surely and this Mayor has no idea of what to do or how to do it!

Anonymous said...

true bring the national guard the mayor not doing nothing..