More than a dozen gang members arrested in Norwood

Josh Einiger Image
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Gang arrests made in the Bronx thanks to Facebook posts
Josh Einiger reports from Norwood.

NORWOOD (WABC) -- More than a dozen suspected gang members, accused of terrorizing a neighborhood, and is off the streets all thanks to what they posted on Facebook.

Shootings, robberies, drug deals; cops say this group of bad guys in the Bronx did it all.

And they allegedly used the streets of Norwood to do their dirty work, but then they bragged about it online.

They go by names like "EZ", "Wild Hound" and "Baby", but their alleged crimes are anything but child's play.

Prosecutors in the Bronx announced the indictments of more than a dozen alleged gang members that they say have been terrorizing part of the South Bronx for more than two years.

In all, they've rounded up 13 alleged gang members. Prosecutors say they took to social media not just to brag about shooting people, but also to sell weapons, turning Facebook into a public bazaar for illegal guns.

They range in age from 17 to 20 years old, meaning some were as young as 15 when the investigation began.

"A lot of them are young, ignorant, they think that's just the life, they want to feel power," a resident said.

This lifelong resident wants to be known only as "G." In fact the very nature of this story made it hard to get anyone to talk to us without a promise not to reveal their identity.

G says he's spent all his life amid dueling gangs near 198th and the Grand Concourse.

And while he's glad the cops are cracking down, this investigation did take more than a year.

He says if these 13 go away, plenty of others will rise up behind them.

"Growing up in the Bronx, at 37 years old, I've been here all my life, it's always been around, it'll always be around, you can try to minimize it, you can try to get better with it, but as far as going away? I doubt it," G said.