In a joint announcement on April 8, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., New York City Mayor Adams, and Police Commissioner Tisch revealed that criminal charges have been brought against 16 suspects in connection with a series of gang-related shootings in the East Harlem area since the spring of 2024. The violence stemmed from retaliatory conflicts between two rival gangs, “LA World” and “Wuski,” triggered by the death of an LA World member, leading to months of intense exchanges of gunfire.
Most of the incidents occurred in the vicinity of public housing developments under the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) such as Lehman, AK, and Johnson, which served as primary strongholds for the two gangs. Between March and September 2024, these shootings accounted for 50% of all shooting incidents in the 23rd precinct of the NYPD. Investigations revealed that the conflicts arose from disputes over drug trafficking territories, escalating into retaliatory shootings.
According to Chief Inspector Kenny, the LA World and Wuski gangs had 30 and 31 registered members in the NYPD gang database respectively, with this operation effectively leading to the indictment of about a third of each faction’s members. He emphasized that 15 of the violent incidents occurred between 9 am and 5 pm, endangering the public during peak hours of commuting and children going to school.
“We have surveillance footage showing children and mothers fleeing on the streets when the shots rang out, demonstrating the brazenness and disregard for innocent lives of the perpetrators,” Kenny pointed out.
The police also highlighted that gang members used Instagram and Telegram to plan crimes, share images of their weapons, and engage in provocations through messaging platforms, indicating the organized and retaliatory nature of these incidents.
Police Commissioner Tisch expressed concern that if the City Council passes legislation to abolish the gang database, it would hinder law enforcement efforts. She stated, “Currently, about 60% of all shooting incidents in the city are related to gang activity. Without this system, we would be unable to accurately identify and prevent such crimes.”
Chief Inspector Kenny added that strict criteria, including self-admission by members, social media corroboration, or law enforcement identification, are used to register individuals in the gang database. Since 2021, 4,488 individuals have been removed from the database for not meeting the requirements.
As of now, the police database contains 507 gangs and groups, with a total of 13,304 registered members.
Mayor Adams emphasized that the city is simultaneously investing in youth crime prevention efforts, including summer job programs for residents of public housing developments and re-employment training for at-risk youth. “We understand that solely relying on enforcement measures is insufficient; crime prevention is the key to making the city safer,” he stated.
Bragg also noted that the prosecution is employing a “precision prosecution” strategy against perpetrators of gang-related retaliatory incidents, focusing on the drivers of violent crime and involving community resources. He stated, “We have implemented a similar model in East Harlem and Washington Heights with significant success.” He also added that prosecutors are collaborating with federal law enforcement agencies to combat drug and firearm crimes.
The 16 defendants currently face a total of 108 charges, including attempted murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, and illegal possession of weapons.