Gang violence blamed for recent shootings
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2012/07/gang-violence-blamed-recent-shootings
Shootings are down in San Francisco but shooting deaths are up, and a
recent surge in gang-related violence has raised community concerns.
The Oceanview, Lake Merced and Ingleside areas have seen five street
violence homicides this year, plus a murder-suicide and the slaying of
five people inside a home. That is up from last year�s total of just
two.
A possibly �gang-motivated� May homicide on the 100 block of Broad
Street in the Oceanview neighborhood seems to have set in motion some
of the recent Sunnydale homicides, police Cmdr. John Loftus said at a
Thursday hearing of the Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee.
Two members of a rival gang were arrested for the shooting and the
case was turned over to the district attorney for prosecution, Loftus
said.
�There has been some gang rivalry between Sunnydale and Randolph
Street,� he said. �We have a number of gangs in The City and we do
have turf type of violence that occurs frequently.�
But despite this flare-up, homicides are about half of those in 2007
and 2008, when the number of killings reached 98 each year. This year,
there have been 41 homicides. In 2011, there were 50.
�Gun violence is down 5 percent in San Francisco, that�s the true
bellwether of how we are doing,� police Chief Greg Suhr said. �Now,
unfortunately, homicides by gun violence are up by 5 percent. Even
though we�ve had less people shot, more people have died as a result
of those shootings.�
At this time last year, there were 136 shootings and 20
shooting-related homicides, according to department data. This year,
there have been 130 shootings and 25 shooting-related homicides.
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OK Zepp (3082 Dead <de...@dead.dog>) here you go gangs are a problem
all over. Chicago just has the most problems lately.
Happy?