VALLEY CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE BLOODY WEEKEND FOLLOWS GANG-VIOLENCE CRACKDOWN.Byline: RACHEL URANGA Staff Writer Gang violence continued unabated in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. over a bloody weekend that claimed one life, left three teenagers wounded and put the city's latest anti-gang effort to the test. The death late Sunday of Mario Garcia Chirinos, 20, marked the Valley's third gang-related slaying this month and the eighth this year. It came two weeks after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. and LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. Chief William Bratton announced a renewed fight against gang violence, which surged 44 percent in the Valley last year. While Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . officials expressed confidence
that the 50 additional gang officers assigned to the Valley will make a
difference, residents said they remain fearful of the city's
estimated 40,000 gang members.
"I am a Christian man and for the first time I am thinking of buying a gun," said Ray Grenados, a 50-year-old painter, who on Saturday night held the hand of one of three teenagers wounded in a gang-related shooting in Canoga Park. "People live in fear over here. We hear gunshots constantly and (police) helicopters. ... I don't think an army can stop all these gang members," said Grenados, noting that he saw LAPD officers patrolling the area just minutes before the shooting. Earlier this month, Villaraigosa and Bratton identified Canoga Park Alabama and 10 other gangs as the most wanted Most Wanted may refer to:
In addition to deploying 50 more officers in the Valley, the LAPD created a gang homicide unit in South L.A. and beefed up training for patrol officers. "I have no doubt they will make a large dent in gang activity," Lt. Paul Vernon, an LAPD spokesman, said of the increased patrols. By publicly identifying the gangs and singling out their 10 Most Wanted members, the LAPD bucked its long-standing policy of anonymity -- a move that experts say could instead embolden em·bold·en tr.v. em·bold·ened, em·bold·en·ing, em·bold·ens To foster boldness or courage in; encourage. See Synonyms at encourage. gang members to engage in more violent acts. "My guess, theoretically, is that the serious suppression efforts will strengthen more than weaken gangs," said Malcom Klein, a gang expert at the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission . "Kids join gangs for things they are not getting elsewhere: a sense of identity, reputation, status and a sense of protection. Then we crack down on those gangs and we are confirming their status and reputation." Villaraigosa has vowed to create a prevention and intervention component to his plan but said that is still months away. Police note that the 30 percent jump in gang-related homicides in 2006 followed years of declining violent crime in the Valley, where an estimated 11,000 gang members live. But that is small comfort to residents of violence-torn neighborhoods who live in fear of gang retribution. "I know that there are more police here, but there is also more violence," said a 47-year-old Van Nuys mother of three who asked not be identified. "They are not afraid of the police." On Sunday night Sunday Night, later named Michelob Presents Night Music, was an NBC late-night television show which aired for two seasons between 1988 and 1990 as a showcase for jazz and eclectic musical artists. , just down the street from the woman's two-bedroom apartment, neighbors scrambled for cover as suspected gang members brazenly bra·zen adj. 1. Marked by flagrant and insolent audacity. See Synonyms at shameless. 2. Having a loud, usually harsh, resonant sound: "sudden brazen clashes of the soldiers' band" fired gunshots at bystanders. No one was injured. Last year, however, somebody was killed in front of her apartment, located in territory claimed by a subset of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha <noinclude></noinclude> Mara Salvatrucha refers to a large notorious Hispanic gangs involved in criminal activities in Central America and the United States. The gang names are commonly abbreviated as MS, Mara, MS-13 gang. Gunfire in the area is a common event. "It has gotten worse over the years," she said. "I can't go out at night." Two years ago, a stray bullet struck a pan being held by her husband as he stood cooking in the kitchen. The woman's now 18-year-old daughter begged her mother to move to a different neighborhood, but the family cannot afford more than the $600 rent they now pay. Marta Rivas, a 32-year-old mother of three, is also afraid to leave her apartment on Sepulveda Boulevard in Van Nuys. "I don't feel safe here. I hear the gangs fighting at night. Sometimes I call the police and they don't come," she said, folding clothes at a local laundry as her 3-year-old daughter played nearby. "I get so scared," she said. "They don't talk. They just shoot." rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3741 |
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