Police Mop Up ‘Bloods’ in New York
N.Y. Crackdown on L.A. Gangs


The Bloods may have 1,000 members in New York, half of them in jail

Youths from the Bloods gather in a street in Los Angeles (Nick Ut/AP Photo)

By Buck Wolf
ABCNEWS.com
N E W   Y O R K, Aug. 28 —The Big Apple is giving an unfriendly welcome to Los Angeles street gangs.
     City and federal police have rounded up 167 suspected gang members, most allegedly belonging to the Bloods, a Los Angeles–based gang known for slashing victims in the face with box cutters in a savage initiation rite.
     The two-day sweep of city streets and jails, announced Wednesday, was an attempt to dismantle seven crews of Bloods and one crew of its archrivals, the Crips, authorities said.
     Police began spotting Bloods in the New York borough of Brooklyn in January. Authorities now claim that the group has as many as 1,000 members throughout the city, half of whom are in jail. Bloods are traditionally known for wearing red bandannas.
     New York police say the gang is responsible for 135 random slashings and are also linked to crack cocaine dealing, subway robberies and other violent crime.
     Authorities are unclear how the East and West Coast Bloods are organized. One officer said they are related in name only.