16 people charged in street gang violence that terrorized Harlem
HARLEM, New York City (WABC) -- Sixteen people are facing criminal charges after investigators say they are members of rival gangs that targeted neighborhoods in Harlem.
Prosecutors say gun violence from both gangs terrorized the community with innocent bystanders often caught in the crossfire.
The conflict accounted for half the shootings in a single East Harlem police precinct between March and September 2024, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office.
The tit for tat bloodshed spawned from the March 2024 murders of 25-year-old Harry Mendoza and 16-year-old Ashley Ballard.
From there, the rival gang violence spun out of control. 21 shooting incidents were committed by 16 gang members from March to September, officials said.
"Just 16 people accused of 50 percent of an entire precinct's shootings - let that sink in," New York Mayor Eric Adams said. "We have to get the small number of people who repeatedly commit crimes off our streets."
15 semiautomatic firearms were seized during the investigation.
"These defendants allegedly committed months of reckless gun violence that terrorized their neighborhoods and communities," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
The "months-long cycle of gun violence" saw bullets flying near playgrounds, bus stops and other locations populated by innocent bystanders, police said.
Officials said the violence happened in and around two big housing developments in East Harlem, the Lehman Village houses and the James Weldon Johnson houses.
Eight gang members are under arrest. Four more are being sought, according to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
"These gang members unleashed a months-long cycle of gun violence that left East Harlem residents living in fear," Tisch said.
"I got my grandkids you know? I don't want them to live like that. In a place - always shooting, and bad and crazy, no. I want a better life for them," Mariluz Diaz a Lehman House tenant said.
The tenant association president at the Lehman Houses says the city also needs to help in providing a sense of direction for the youth in East Harlem.
"We need the kids to get more involved in their development and there's nothing in the development. We have to go out here, out there to try to find something to do. And it's sad," said Patricia Burns, Tennant Association President.
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