New law would close businesses that allow gang activity: If a new law is passed this year by the General Assembly, property owners who allow gang activity at their place of business may soon find themselves shut down. “It could be a convenience store, bar or nightclub, or apartment building, but if the owner continues to allow illegal gang activity at their establishment after being put on notice we will be able to take civil action,” said Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero, chairman of the N.C. Metro Coalition of Chiefs of Police, the organization which is pushing for the bill.

 Fractured gangs blamed for Chicago homicide surge: CHICAGO (AP) — Maybe it is the splintering of established drug gangs that has young men grabbing the tools of their trade — handguns — to jockey for position? Or it is that rival gangs, once miles apart in different public housing complexes, suddenly finding themselves sharing the same street corner? Whatever the reasons, Chicago has seen a spike in its homicide rate — with eight killed and at least 35 wounded in a spasm of gunfire last weekend alone — that has authorities scrambling to put more police on the street and some frightened residents retreating deep into their homes.

 Police say Kansas gangs using social media: WICHITA — Gang members in the Wichita area have been using social media to recruit, organize and to get out their messages, police said. Gangs, such as Crips and the Spanish Gangster Disciples, have their own Facebook fan pages and have been posting pictures of social events, adding friends and commenting on posts “just like everyone else,” said Detective Chad Beard, of the Wichita Police Department’s gang and felony assault unit.

 Toronto gangs smaller, looser – but packing more heat: The city’s gangs are smaller, their members more loosely organized than they were 20 years ago. They’re also more lethal: The number of homicides classified as “gang-related” has risen since the 1990s. Last Saturday’s shooting at the Eaton Centre – while officially not gang-related in Toronto police lexicon – thrust into the limelight the sort of violence normally hidden in the city’s most blighted neighbourhoods.

 No rosaries as necklaces at Coon Rapids High School: COON RAPIDS, Minn. -- When is a rosary something other than a religious artifact? Coon Rapids Police say it is when it is a gang symbol. "[Wednesday], a staff member saw a student wearing a rosary," commented Mary Olson, Communications Director of Anoka-Hennepin School District 11. "The staff member recalled that she had received an email from Coon Rapids police saying that rosaries are now gang symbols in this area and because we have a policy that says students cannot wear gang symbols or display them in any way, she asked him to remove it."

 Witness claims threats in refusal to testify: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Somali man who refused to testify against gang members in a sex trafficking trial in Nashville told a judge that he was assaulted and informed that gang members would get him if he snitched.

 ATF and Detroit Tigers Celebrate 18-year "G.R.E.A.T." Partnership: DETROIT, June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Special Agent in Charge David L. McCain of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced that today's baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians marks an 18-year partnership between ATF and the Detroit Tigers Organization with the Gang Resistance Education and Training "G.R.E.A.T." anti-gang program. "The Detroit Tigers Organization has dedicated a game each year to the G.R.E.A.T. program and the Tigers continue to demonstrate the team's commitment to the education and training of the children of Michigan," said McCain. "ATF and the Detroit Tigers would like to thank our law enforcement partners, the Detroit and Brownstown Police Departments, for their longstanding commitment and support to G.R.E.A.T. and to educating our youth in Michigan."

 City sues Kurdish Pride gang, calls them 'public nuisance': Metro officials have launched a renewed effort against gang activity in South Nashville, filing a civil suit against the Kurdish Pride gang, according to police spokesman Don Aaron. Mayor Karl Dean and police Chief Steve Anderson were expected to announce details of the lawsuit, which calls the gang and 24 of its members a public nuisance, late Tuesday morning at Paragon Mills Park, where the gang has been known to operate.

 Experts: Quest for fame moves gang wars from back alleys into the open: OTTAWA - Toronto police called the shooter who opened fire in a downtown mall Saturday "one idiot with a gun." But some gang experts argue public shootings like the one at the Eaton Centre that left one man dead and several other people wounded are part of an effort by gang leaders to make themselves look like anything but idiots.

 Gang shootings create cycles: Shooting victims “in the game” pose the most difficult challenge for police and prosecutors. Gang members and criminals are the least likely to cooperate yet the most likely to perpetuate back-and-forth wars that cause spikes in violent crime, draw innocent bystanders into their crossfire and give Kansas City a bad reputation. In January, a wounded man told Kansas City police he didn’t know his assailant, but within hours of being released from the hospital he allegedly shot the man who he thought shot him.

 City won’t write a ‘blank check’ to partner CeaseFire: mayor : Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Friday he’s proceeding with caution in forging a city partnership with CeaseFire Illinois — and not writing a “blank check” — to make certain ex-offenders hired by the group are “preventing crime, not committing it.” The Chicago Sun-Times reported this week that at least six people have been charged with committing drug-related crimes while on CeaseFire’s payroll over the past five years.