Residents of South Los Angeles are on edge over what is being called a “100 days, 100 nights” campaign, which has been reported to be a war between rival gangs.
The violence started on July 17, and has led to four unsolved murders and at least 10 shootings near the 77th division of the Los Angeles Police Department. The division is roughly bounded by Vernon Avenue on the north, Century to the south, east of Central and west of La Brea Avenue.
Community sources indicate that Kenneth Peevy, known as KP, was supposedly shot by an unknown assailant, ran about one block from the scene of the assault, and died in the 1600 block of 109th Street off of Hobart Avenue.
Peevy’s death reportedly sparked the “100 days 100 nights” buzz with a long-time rival gang faction. Supposedly that faction vowed through social media to kill 100 enemies in 100 days and 100 nights.
African Americans males 15-40 years old are supposedly targeted.
It is believed that KP’s death may have been a direct response to a physical fight Peevy had been involved in earlier with members of a rival gang, a film of which was posted later on his Instagram page. Afterwards, the rivals were reportedly angered by the posting; so they shot him.
The aftermath of this homicide caused a reaction that has spread through several different areas in South Los Angeles. This apparently has caused an increase in gang shootings. The frequency of these shootings, although linked to Peevy’s death, may also involve other unknown gang issues or unsettled issues.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck acknowledged in a press conference Wednesday that there has been a spike in gang activity over a relatively short period of time; but the chief did not attribute the situation to the 100 days, 100 nights shooting spree. Instead, he attributes it to a long-standing rivalry.
“We had a tough weekend, particularly in South Los Angeles,” Beck said. “We had four gang-related shootings that occurred in the 77th division over a short time period. All four of those shootings were supposedly related to an ongoing dispute between two street gangs that have been historic rivals for decades, Beck noted.
“I know that there has been a lot of media attention to the 100 days of violence posting. I think that, in all fairness, you can’t attribute a gang dispute that has been going on between two street gangs for as long as I have been a Los Angeles police officer to a series of social media postings.
“Gang disputes are more likely to be generational, territorial, and tied to long-standing feuding, and not so much to Facebook postings,” the chief said.
Beck went on to say that more resources were deployed to the 77th division, and as of Saturday night, there had not been what LAPD would consider unusual levels of gang violence, or a continuation of the incidents.
Beck said that gang violence in South L.A. was no greater than usual even following the tactical alert that Sunday’s homicides triggered.
Beck even went as far as to question whether the “100 days, 100 nights” was even real.
“There are many, many urban myths, and many of them coincide with gang activity,” Beck said. “We have dealt with multiple of them in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department. I would hope that this is one of those. We have not seen any increase in events that we can directly tie to this. But we’re looking very closely at it. I would encourage the media to take it for what it is—posting by individuals who are probably not involved in the activities. The activity that we had this weekend was tied to long-standing gangs that have been around for four decades to my knowledge, and certainly not due to Facebook postings.”
Beck did acknowledge that social media postings could alarm the public, because many people have been cautious in South Los Angeles.
Whether “100 days, 100 night” is real or not, it does show a shift in the ways that gangs communicate. Years ago, gangs would travel into rival territory, exposing themselves to gunfire to complete a mission. They would also paint graffiti, disrespecting rival gangs.
Gangs using social media may be a result of gang injunctions, which prevents gangs from hanging out in public areas. It appears that gangs have turned to online interaction as a way to make their existence known. The aftermath of this homicide caused a reaction that has spread through several different areas in South Los Angeles.
This apparently has caused an increase in gang shootings. The frequency of these shootings, although linked to Peevy’s death, may also involve other unknown gang issues or unsettled issues.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck acknowledged in a press conference Wednesday that the spike in gang activity over a relatively short period of time; but the chief did not attribute the situation to the 100 days, 100 nights shooting spree. Instead, he attributes it to a long-standing rivalry.
“We had a tough weekend, particularly in South Los Angeles,” Beck said. “We had four gang-related shootings that occurred in the 77th division over a short time period. All four of those shootings were supposedly related to an ongoing dispute between two street gangs that have been historic rivals for decades, Beck noted.
“I know that there has been a lot of media attention to the 100 days of violence posting. I think that, in all fairness, you can’t attribute a gang dispute that has been going on between two street gangs for as long as I have been a Los Angeles police officer to a series of social media postings.
“Gang disputes are more likely to be generational, territorial, and tied to long-standing feuding, and not so much to Facebook postings,” the chief said.
Beck went on to say that more resources were deployed to the 77th division, and as of Saturday night, there had not been what LAPD would consider unusual levels of gang violence, or a continuation of the incidents.
Beck said that gang violence in South L.A. was no greater than usual, even following the tactical alert that Sunday’s homicides triggered.
Beck even went as far as to question whether the “100 days, 100 nights” was even real.
“There are many, many urban myths, and many of them coincide with gang activity,” Beck said. “We have dealt with multiple of them in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department. I would hope that this is one of those. We have not seen any increase in events that we can directly tie to this. But we’re looking very closely at it. I would encourage the media to take it for what it is—posting by individuals who are probably not involved in the activities. The activity that we had this weekend was tied to long-standing gangs that have been around for four decades to my knowledge, and certainly not due to Facebook postings.”
Beck did acknowledge that social media postings could alarm the public, because many people have been cautious in South Los Angeles.
Whether “100 days, 100 night” is real or not, it does show a shift in the ways that gangs communicate. Years ago, gangs would travel into rival territory, exposing themselves to gunfire to complete a mission. They would also paint graffiti, disrespecting rival gangs.
Using social media may be a result of injunctions, which prevent gangs from hanging out in public areas. It appears that gangs have turned to online interaction as a way to make their existence known, said one criminologist who studies L.A. street gangs.
