A major gang takedown in Queens has led to the arrest of 22 people, according to the borough's district attorney, who framed the sweep as a blow against gun violence on the streets of the borough. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the arrests, saying those charged are members of two gangs that authorities have been working to dismantle.
Katz said the suspects were tied to a string of violence, including a stabbing and a shooting that erupted outside a Sweet 16 birthday party. In that shooting, a 15-year-old was wounded, one of the incidents that investigators say underscores the danger posed by the gangs targeted in the takedown.
The party shooting drew particular attention because of how it unfolded and what allegedly followed. With as many as 40 people present at the celebration, the gunfire sent people scattering and the suspects fled the scene, leaving investigators to track down those responsible in the aftermath of the chaos.
According to the district attorney, the case was further complicated by an alleged attempt to cover it up. One suspect is accused of removing evidence and misdirecting police who were responding to the shooting of the 15-year-old, conduct that authorities say hampered the early stages of the investigation before the broader case came together.
Katz cast the arrests as part of a wider effort to make the streets safer heading into the summer. There are so many of these shootings on the streets of Queens, she said, adding that authorities cannot stand for it and that the office is working not only to take gangs off the street but guns as well.
The district attorney said her office is working closely with the New York City Police Department to take violent gang members off the streets. The takedown, with its 22 arrests spanning two gangs, was presented as a significant step in that campaign, even as the cases now move into the court system where the allegations will be tested.