Beware of 'Young Guns'

From the NY Post:

In Harlem, The Bronx and Brooklyn, small, independent gangs are popping up with increasing frequency -- arming themselves to protect their turf, which sometimes amounts to a single block or housing unit, and lashing out at the slightest insult or challenge.

Though they make money by mugging people or dealing pot or cocaine, their motives are more territorial than financial.

“It’s consistent around the city: young guys doing their own thing, mostly around the projects,” said Lou Savelli, a crime consultant who founded the NYPD’s Gang Unit. “A lot of them are friends who grew up together. They think up a name, and that’s their gang. It’s like the old days of the 1950s, when you had guys who defended their street corner.”

But there’s a big difference. This new generation, often referred to collectively as “Young Guns,” has turned away from traditional gangs like the Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings and is more rash, violent and dangerous than their older counterparts.

The crews, with odd names like Very Cripsy Gangsters in East New York, Wave Gang in Brownsville and From the Zoo in Harlem, aren’t guided by any of the codes or hierarchy of established gangs -- a deeply troubling development, cops say.