Gangs, Gang Violence | featured news

... spike in murders and shootings — much of it gang-related — shocked Chicagoans, spurred new crime-fighting strategies and left indelible images: Mayor Rahm Emanuel voicing outrage about gang crossfire that killed a 7-year-old named Heaven selling candy in her front yard. Panicked mourners scrambling as shots ring out on the church steps at a funeral for a reputed gang leader. Girls wearing red high school basketball uniforms, filing by the casket of a 16-year-old teammate shot on her porch.

Geno Martini, the mayor of Sparks, Nev., cancels a motorcycle event and declares a state of emergency after the fatal shooting of Jeffrey Pettigrew, 51, during a casino melee. The fatal shooting of a California Hells Angels leader during a casino melee with a rival gang Friday night has prompted the mayor of Sparks, Nev., to declare a state of emergency and cancel an annual motorcycle event, authorities said.