Members of a Bronx gang were arrested on Tuesday after Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell issued a 65-count indictment over shootings in the area.
According to ABC 7 NY, the charges against 23 gang members in the indictment include conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, attempted assault, and criminal possession of a weapon. The NYPD are pinning a shooting that occurred in August 2020 on members of the RPT gang, while others allegedly committed gang assault on a person believed to be a part of a rival organization. The New York Daily News notes RPT is “a subset of the Bloods and linked to the Young Gunners,” per police, and that the defendants rage in age from 17 to 34.
Among the indicted was Bronx drill rapper DThang Gz, who was arraigned on Monday, per the D.A. The 20-year-old, real name Daniel Collins, has 208,000 Instagram followers.
The indictment also includes animal cruelty charges after several RPT members livestreamed themselves killing a pigeon they compared to a Crip. “If we get 100, we’ll kill it,” one defendant said on the stream.
The District Attorney shared a statement outlining the large indictment, and called on Bronx rappers to “stop using music to encourage shootings and use it to better the community.”
“These defendants allegedly engaged in gun violence, committing six shootings, one which injured a rival gang member,” Clark said. “They allegedly fired wildly on the streets without regard for the lives of anyone else. They allegedly possessed a gun used in shootings that they posed with on social media and rapped about the violence. I thank the NYPD for their partnership in this investigation. We are doing all we can to battle the gun scourge, but more must be done to deviate young people from a life of gangs and senseless violence.”
Clark continued, “I am calling on rappers from the Bronx to stop using music to encourage shootings and use it to better the community. I am asking to have a summit with aspiring rappers and the rap stars who come from the Bronx, record companies, radio stations and social media so we can find solutions to prevent further violence.”
