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font face="helvetica,arial" size="-1" color="#000000">washingtonpost.com D.C. Fears Upsurge in Gang Feuds By David A. Fahrenthold and Justin Blum Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, July 30, 2003; Page A01 A feud between street gangs in Columbia Heights escalated from a fistfight into a pair of shootings that left two men dead and three wounded in recent days, District authorities said yesterday. A fatal shooting Monday evening at 14th and Chapin streets NW appears linked to a killing several blocks away early Saturday, police said. The gunfire stemmed from a rivalry between Mara R -- one of the city's larger Latino gangs -- and the 1-5 Amigos, a smaller group known mainly for dealing drugs, police said. The shootings fit a pattern of violence stemming from several gang disputes that have been simmering in Northwest Washington, police said. The gangs, which operate in heavily Salvadoran neighborhoods, are growing and becoming more brazen about when and where they fight, according to police and community activists. In May, six alleged members of the Vatos Locos were charged with murder and conspiracy and were accused of carrying out a year-long street war with rival groups, including Mara R. The bloodshed included a daylight killing last fall outside a Northwest high school. Other feuds have been brewing, authorities said: In late May, an alleged member of the gang STC shot another man on Sherman Avenue NW after asking him, "What gang are you with?" according to charging documents. Lately, STC members have sought confrontations with another large gang, MS-13, in public places, including a street festival in Mount Pleasant and nightclubs in Northwest, a police source said. Police have sent Spanish-speaking officers into Columbia Heights to work on the latest outbreak of violence, including a number of officers recently recruited from Puerto Rico. They also bolstered patrols in the area last night. The recent trouble began early Saturday, when Donis B. Arias, 25, was slain while on a bicycle in the 1400 block of Columbia Road NW, very close to the stretch of 15th Street that police say is home turf for the 1-5 Amigos. Police said officers in an unmarked vehicle saw the shooting and later arrested Franklin Gomez, 29, a Hyattsville man believed to be a member of Mara R. About 7 p.m. Monday, gunmen in a vehicle with North Carolina license plates shot four men in the Nehemiah Center strip mall at 14th and Chapin, killing Erlin Noe Gutierrez, 22, of Rockville. Police sources said the four victims were believed to be linked to Mara R. No one has been arrested in that shooting. Cmdr. Larry D. McCoy of the 3rd Police District said it was unclear how the feud between the 1-5 Amigos and Mara R began, though police have heard about a fistfight in recent weeks. "Mara," Salvadoran slang for "gang" or "clique," is part of the names of both Mara R and MS-13, whose initials stand for "Mara Salvatrucha." The name STC stands for "Street Thug Criminals," and Vatos Locos, loosely translated, is Spanish for "Crazy Guys." Brenda Arias, 16, the sister of Donis Arias, said her brother was not a member of a gang. He was unemployed and looking for work, she said. She said he often would hang out around 15th and Irving streets NW in Columbia Heights. "I'm real hurt inside, deeply hurt," she said. Gutierrez's relatives said that as far as they knew, Gutierrez did not belong to a gang, either. Gutierrez, a few weeks shy of his 23rd birthday, was the eldest of five children of Salvadoran immigrants. He was working as a bartender at a Mexican restaurant in the District and was studying for his high school equivalency diploma, according to his family. "He was a nice boy. He was always smiling. He would always be playing around with Mama," said his 14-year-old sister, Ingrid Gutierrez. In the neighborhood where Monday's shooting occurred, residents said the stretch of 14th Street -- a busy commercial strip and a frontier of gentrification -- is threatened by drugs and crime. Residents said they have been forced to alter their everyday behavior, keeping children away from parks and staying inside after dark. "Police need to step up," said Sandra Faison, 30. "The drugs, the violence, the loudness -- it's no place to raise children." Judy Rivas, who lives on Chapin Street, said her children -- Giovanni, 5, and Aldair, 1 -- are not allowed outside at night. "I try not to come out after 6," she said, adding that the recent violence "makes me scared." During a vigil last night, mourners lighted candles at 14th Street and Columbia Road NW, where Arias was killed Saturday, and then walked in a river of candlelight about six blocks to the south along 14th Street. There, a young man made the sign of the cross and put his fingers to his lips before the tree where Gutierrez was killed. Young men with tattoos began to cry as community leaders begged for a cease-fire. "Today, I talked to both mothers of these two men over the phone. The two [women] never met. All they have in common is that both are from El Salvador. And now, both of them lost their sons," said Luis Cardona, a community activist and a former gang member. "Both of them said they want the violence to stop. You have the responsibility of honoring that," he told the men in the crowd, speaking in Spanish and then in English. Gutierrez's girlfriend taped a photo of him on a sunflower-seed box and passed it around to collect money for his family. His friends said Gutierrez had given money in Arias's honor a few days earlier. A man who lost his son to street violence 10 years ago stepped forward and told the crowd that he understands the desire for revenge. "I had 300 soldiers waiting to take my call, ready to retaliate for my son's death, and that was my first reaction," said Al Malik Farrakhan, who founded Cease Fire . . . Don't Smoke the Brothers Inc. after his son died. "I see some of you shot-callers right here. Sit your men down, and tell them this war is about nothing," Farrakhan said, staring at young men who turned from his gaze. "I see it in your eyes, that look. Don't do it. Set an example for our youth." Staff writers Petula Dvorak and Fredrick Kunkle and staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report. 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