Brooklyn streets are seeing a major shift in the fight against gun violence. On Wednesday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced sweeping indictments against 36 individuals tied to two rival Brownsville street gangs, one of which was made widely known through references by slain rapper Pop Smoke.
The crackdown targeted members of the WOOO and CHOO factions, groups that many will recognize as the foundational sets behind the rivalry that defined the late Pop Smoke’s career and the Brooklyn drill movement.
According to prosecutors, the bloody rivalry between these groups resulted in 36 separate shootings. These incidents claimed the life of one man and left ten others wounded, including people who had no connection to the gangs. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch didn’t hold back when describing the nature of these crimes: “The indictments announced today are the culmination of a long-term investigation into some of the most violent criminals in New York City. Their vicious campaign of retaliation and retribution, waged with absolutely no regard for human life, turned every slight into a shootout and terrorized these communities for years…