Flash Gang: a social media connection such as Twitter is used to invite participants to a time and location, they do something like robbery or assault, and they split up. George Knox, NGCRC, June 15, 2011
Presentation for 2011 Southern Criminal Justice Association Meeting, Nashville, TN
2. Flash Gangs, where gang activity
appears in an instant.
Flash Mob + Gang activity = Flash gangbanging
3. "Flash mobs," where adults come
together for goofy plans, are
organized on the Web and by cell
phone — spreading the word with
chat rooms, text messaging and e-
mail.
4. Flash gang
A group of people who set a time
with there (sic) cell phones to
meet at a certain place and time
to do gang stuff and are just as
quickly gone in all directions.
by The wrath of God Sep 26, 2010
www.urbandictionary.com/define.ph
p?term=Flash%20gang (cached)
5. Flash Gang: a social media
connection such as Twitter is
used to invite participants to a
time and location, they do
something like robbery or
assault, and they split up.
George Knox, NGCRC, June 15, 2011
6. flash banging
• "smash and grab“
–create a diversion
–smash window of
• expensive jewelry store
• fur/leather store
–take what they can grab in seconds
–in seconds they are gone
7. Techno-Enhanced group violence
• Groups of youth using text messaging
and social media to gather at
specified locations as "flash mobs"
and attack people
• Flash-mob violence has also been
reported in many locations, including
Los Angeles, Philadelphia and
Washington D.C.
8. May 12, 2004
• Almost 3 dozen people arrested for a street
fight.
• arranged via an Internet chat room.
• Two Dallas gangs arranged time to meet.
• Gang members identified and arrested with
the aid of a digital video tape of the brawl.
• According to one officer, 'Some of them
actually signed in with their true names, so
that helped us identify people.'"
9. March 28, 2007 Youths Use Cell Phones
To Summon Crowd To Riverpark
Cookout today at
A large crowd was summoned to the Tennessee Riverpark
Riverpark at 6:30.
using cell phones, and one person at the park with
the text message had gang sign photos on his phone.
Everbody come out and
One 15-year-old youth at the fishing park that night
had photos on his cell phone with "Blood Favor of
Southland People with (Man Man) and Skyline Group
(Bloods)." chill. Send dis ta everbody
The text message was on the phones of an adult and
a 15-year-old.you know. We tryin get da
be called to the Riverparkwhole city out.
Sheriff officers and Chattanooga Police officers had to
when numerous fights
broke out as the large crowd gathered after the text
messages went out.
The same thing had happened the previous
Wednesday night.
10. April 19, 2011
Flash mobsters: Man shot in the head after 'Gang
inspired' flash mob trash Venice Beach
• Gang-organized ‘flash mob ended with a man being
shot in the head.
• Many dressed in gang attire and tattoos.
• Victim shot in head and side.
• Message on Twitter: ‘Venice beach bball ct going up
tomorrow.’
• LAPD called for reinforcements as crowd swelled.
• Shots about 6.30pm and victim ran into alley before
collapsing.
11. April 2011
• In Washington, D.C., nearly 20 youths gathered
outside clothing store filed in together, brushing
past customers.
• Video shows them marching directly to shelves of
expensive designer jeans and racks of high-end
shirts.
• They sorted through clothing and tucked them
under their arms, behaving like usual, if rushed,
customers.
• All suddenly made for exit, escaping before police
arrived 10 minutes later.
• Suspects stole estimated $20,000 in merchandise.
12. June 4, 2011
• 7 arrested in flash mob gang attack near
Northwestern University campus
• Police arrested 7 of the 15-20 suspects, allegedly
involved in a gang flash mob attack.
• One of suspects swung baseball bat at male
victim and knocked him to ground. Several
punched and kicked him.
• After assault, gang fled.
• Categorized as attempted robbery and suspects
face mob action charges.
• Several minutes after attack, a man was robbed
by five to six males in another part of town.
13. • According to Reuters survey, "Of 129
retailers, primarily national store chains,
94.5 percent said they were victimized by
organized criminals in the past year.
• 84.8 percent said the problem has only
worsened in the past three years."
• Reuters noted high percentages aren't
entirely due to flash mob crime, but they
are certainly contributing.
some gangs have focused on "smash and grab" ......create a diversion, then smash window of expensive jewelry store or fur/leather store, and they take what they can grab in seconds, and in seconds they are gone......if the youth phenomenon of (my phrase.......attribute original use to me please) "flash banging" ever goes old school (target being high-end shopping, smash and grab style).....then we will see a crime challenge.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/2565447.htmlGARLAND - In a modern-day version of West Side Story, rival gang members exchanged harsh words and set a time for a rumble. Nearly three dozen people, including 27 high school students, were arrested this week after a grand jury issued indictments in a March 3 street fight. What makes this case unusual, experts say, is how the clash was arranged: via a profanity-laced Internet chat room. "It's the first time that we have seen it," said Officer Joe Harn, police spokesman in the Dallas suburb of Garland. "They didn't have to come together to down each other (with profanity). They simply could do it by typing on a computer. Finally, it escalated enough where they decided to get together and fight." While the cyber warfare was fought with keyboards, gang members relied on more old-fashioned weapons -- fists, baseball bats, shovels -- in the physical skirmish, Harn said. Several people were injured, including one person who suffered a broken arm. "Most gangs, when they do the disrespect thing, it's either face to face or through graffiti," said Steve Nawojczyk, an Arkansas gang researcher who tracks trends on his Web site, www.gangwar.com. But it's not a surprise that a generation raised on computers would offer a new wrinkle, he and other experts agreed. "Let's face it: Gangs already have their own alphabet, their own language, their own hand signals, so why not use the Internet?" said Tod Burke, a criminal justice professor at Radford University in Virginia. "Is this case unusual? Yes. But what I'm afraid is going to happen, this is probably just the beginning of it." In fact, gangs threatening rivals and issuing challenges on the Internet has become relatively common, said Jared Lewis, director of Know Gangs, a Wisconsin-based organization that educates police and the public about gangs. It's fueled in part, he said, by chat rooms and bulletin boards on gangster rap artists' Web sites, he said. "This is the first time I've heard where you've had a fight result, where the gangs actually met," Lewis said. "It doesn't surprise me at all that it's happened. It's just the scale that does surprise me." In keeping with the rumble's high-tech origins, one participant videotaped the Garland skirmish. The tape helped police identify students and others involved in the off-campus fight. A grand jury indicted 34 people, ages 14 to 21, for riot participation/aggravated assault/serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison. All but one has been arrested, Harn said Wednesday. The other person is believed to have fled to Mexico. Five of those indicted were female, and 18 were juveniles. Most of the suspects attended Garland High School and South Garland High School, but school officials say the Internet exchanges occurred on home computers. Harn said detectives discovered the chat room during their investigation. "It's a site where anybody could go in and sign in and start talking," he said. "For the most part, it's nothing but cursing on it. ... Some of them actually signed in with their true names, so that helped us identify people." The city's gang intelligence officers plan to pay more attention to such sites given this case, he said. But gang experts say there's no way police can keep track of all the communications on millions of Internet sites. Parents, not police, must take ultimate responsibility, said Lewis, a former police officer in Modesto, Calif. "I'm just wondering why the parents aren't monitoring what's going on back and forth on the Internet," he said. Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/2565447.html#ixzz1PZNFqxJl
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1378256/man-shot-head-Gang-inspired-flash-mob-trash-Venice-Beach.html#ixzz1PZGo4PYuFlash mobsters: Man shot in the head after 'Gang inspired' flash mob trash Venice BeachA gang-organised ‘flash mob’ caused havoc at a California beach resort and ended up with a man fighting for his life after he was shot in the head.Promoted through messages on Twitter, the mini-riot on the boardwalk in Venice, California, was a disturbing new development in the growing trend of initiating impromptu gatherings through social networking sites.Flash mobs encourage people from around the world to spontaneously come together for various events, including dances, protests and even pillow fights.But witnesses said many of those involved in the Venice mob were dressed in gang attire and tattoos and police in Los Angeles are investigating whether it was orchestrated to cause mayhem in an area popular with tourists.‘It looked like a human tidal wave,’ Spencer Sirlin, a 27-year-old Hollywood booking agent who saw the gun attack on Saturday, told the Los Angeles Times.The victim in his mid-20s, who was not named, was shot in the head and side. He is being treated at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.Hundreds of people fled into surrounding streets after the shooting.Alexandria Thompson, a Venice resident and a member of neighbourhood watch, said she notified police on Saturday morning about the online attempt to organize a ‘flash mob’ at the beachside basketball courts.A message circulated on Twitter read: ‘Venice beach bball ct going up tomorrow.’ There were further Tweets as the crowd grew throughout the day.Sargent Felipe Vasquez, of Los Angeles Police, said he called for reinforcements as the crowd, which clearly included gang members, swelled in the late afternoon.Six to eight shots rang out at about 6.30pm and the victim ran into an alley before collapsing. There have been no arrests. Fearing the bloodshed would spread, many took refuge in local shops and the bus stops were besieged with people trying to get out of the area.However, Ms Thompson, 43, said people were clearly relishing the chaos. She said she saw some running away backwards so they could keep watching the action.‘They were laughing. It was all part of the event for them,’ she told the Times. ‘There’s a kind of free-for-all down here. Everybody is trying to get away with as much as they can.’Some local businesses are concerned the escalating violence in the area could mean tourists will stay away.It was not the first ‘flash mob’ to gather in Venice. Earlier this year, a false report that a hip-hop star was shooting a video on the boardwalk drew scores of dancers and onlookers, but there was no trouble.
http://www.chicagonewsreport.com/2011/06/streeterville-7-arrested-in-flash-mob.htmlStreeterville: 7 arrested in flash mob gang attack near Northwestern University campus Timothy FitzSaturday, June 4, 2011, around 8:26 p.m., police arrested seven of the fifteen to twenty black male suspects, allegedly involved in a gang flash mob attack in Streeterville. The assault occurred across the street from the Northwestern University Wieboldt Hall campus at 339 East Chicago Avenue. According to the university’s crime alert, one of the suspects swung a baseball bat at the male victim’s face and knocked him to the ground. Once the victim was down, several offenders punched and kicked the man, said the university alert. After the assault, the gang fled eastbound on Chicago Avenue, towards Lake Michigan. The victim, who sustained minor injuries, was treated at the scene. The incident has been categorized as an attempted robbery and the arrested suspects have been hit with mob action charges. But what about the actual robberies that occurred in Streeterville Saturday evening? Why haven’t they been reported? Is someone trying to make this incident look like an isolated attack? Saturday, at approximately 8:44 p.m., several minutes after the attack near Wieboldt Hall, a man was robbed by five to six male blacks on the 600 block of North Lake Shore Drive. The thieves took the man’s cell phone and his camera.