Two dead in shooting at Toronto street party, 21 injured: TORONTO (Reuters) - Two people were killed and 21 others injured in what may have been a gang-related shootout at a Toronto street party late on Monday evening, raising fears of violent retaliation in Canada's largest city. We are very concerned, not only with the quick resolution and solving of this crime, but of the potential for retaliatory violence," Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair told a news conference at which he promised to step up police presence in response.

 Chicago gang database intends to predict and prevent further violence: The difficulty is mapping a strategy to combat people who don’t seem to have anything more important in their lives than the neverending series of vendettas. The mayor announced a new initiative to close liquor stores and abandoned buildings where gang members and drug dealers hang out. "We refuse to give those gangs a refuge. That liquor store is not a refuge. That abandoned building is not a refuge," said Emanuel.

 NOPD targets group violence, gangs across city .: NEW ORLEANS - As violence across New Orleans continues, authorities believe groups of criminals are carrying out some of the attacks. Whatever term you choose, whether it be gangs or loosely associated groups of kids, there are clearly numbers of kids who come together, identify with a certain piece of land and then use that as a way to kind of make themselves feel stronger and better," said NOPD Supt. Ronal Serpas.

 MCSO: Inmate plots uncovered to kill Arpaio, rival jailmate: PHOENIX (CBS5) - Three Arizona maximum security inmates were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of devising separate assassination plots that targeted Sheriff Joe Arpaio and a rival jailmate. Two members of the Mexican Mafia, Marks Cons, 33, and Rudolfo Santos, 37, were served with arrest warrants at the Fourth Avenue Jail where they are currently incarcerated. The investigation into the alleged Arpaio murder plot then led to the discovery of yet another plan, MCSO said. Audio surveillance uncovered a conspiracy by Cons, Santos and Matta to kill another inmate - a rival gang member, sheriff's investigators said. The alleged murder plot was also foiled by sheriff's detectives.

 Blade sues city over gang territory map: The Blade filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the city of Toledo claiming the city's police department is violating the Ohio Public Records Act for refusing to provide access to a "gang boundaries map" that police use to monitor increasing gang activities and a record number of shootings this year. According to the complaint filed in the 6th District Court of Appeals, the newspaper requested the opportunity to view and copy what police officers refer to as a "gang boundaries map" or a "gang territories map," which is maintained by the city's police department in the Safety Building downtown and in police computers.

 31 alleged Blood members arrested in latest Columbia crackdown: Those were nicknames of suspected Bloods Street Gang members disclosed Wednesday in a federal-state dragnet that netted indictments against 38 Columbia-area men and women on more than 100 crimes, including murder, drug dealing, interstate prostitution and sex trafficking, robbery and using the Internet to file false income tax returns. Ten of the 38 people indicated were involved in filing false federal income tax returns via the Internet to get illegal refunds. Nine defendants who had served previous stints in prison were charged with possessing firearms in violation of the law.

 Gang Assessment Report shed light on how to stop violence : This year's Omaha Gang Assessment reports on the status of gang activity in the city and lays out steps the researchers believe will help alleviate the problem. The report credits community organizations like the Empowerment Network, The Urban League, and others for leading the way in improving community-police relations and providing gang intervention.

 Alleged Gang War Has Liberty City Under Deadly Siege: This afternoon, Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones and Miami New Times columnist Luther Campbell are meeting with Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa to ask him what he is doing to address a violent gang war that has enveloped Liberty City over the past three months. "We're going to ask him what the hell is going on," Campbell says. "The violence has gotten out of control."

 As Homicides Spike, Chicago Mayor Defends Tactics: Chicago's mayor and police superintendent publicly defended their new gang-fighting strategy Monday amid growing criticism that the changes are failing and a big reason why the city's homicide rate has soared this year. After weeks of media reports about Chicago homicides — which so far are up nearly 38 percent from last year — Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy defiantly said during a news conference that the gang strategies in place before McCarthy arrived were the ones that failed, not the new ones.

 Gang feud that killed Nizzel grew for months : The bullet that killed 5-year-old Nizzel George last month in the home where he was staying came through the wall in an instant, but the events that led to his murder began at least 10 months earlier, according to an internal police report obtained by the Star Tribune. A summer 2011 street fight that spiraled out of control sparked an ongoing, violent feud between two North Side gangs -- the Skitz Squad and Y.N.T. -- that over the winter and spring included shootings, beatings and repeated threats on social media, according to the report

 Gang violence triples in Tennessee's small towns: If Springfield, a town of about 16,000 people 30 miles north of Nashville and 15 minutes from the Kentucky border, sounds like an unlikely place for gangs, it shouldn’t. In the past two months alone, three suspected gang members were arrested in the armed holdup of the Commerce Union Bank on South Main Street, a 26-year-old man was shot in the chest at the Stop One Market down the same street, and Rashaud Singletary, 20, was found dead with a bullet wound to the back of his head behind a home on J.L. Patterson Boulevard near the youth center. While larger cities unveil gang task forces, sweeping federal racketeering investigations and large-scale drug raids, the state’s small towns are becoming incubators of gang violence. Since 2005, cities with fewer than 50,000 residents saw gang crime more than triple.

 Cyber Gang Activity Gaining More Focus : After a recent shooting on the west side that allegedly started with online taunting, more focus is being shown on online gang activity. Lt. Chris Bailey with the IMPD Criminal Gang unit says sometimes an altercation can start from a harmless message. "The person receiving the message in a written form or text or Facebook or whatever, the meaning of those words is left to the interpretation of the person getting them. So I could write something that's reasonably harmless but you take it a different way and now we have a beef with each other."

 Courts could put conditions on known gang members: Calgary courtrooms could get busier as police continue their efforts to monitor known gang members as they complete jail sentences. Section 810 of federal legislation imposes conditions on gangsters who could be a threat to the public, like curfews and who they can and cannot associate with. Other Canadian jurisdictions have seen success imposing these conditions, but Section 810 has not yet been used in Calgary.

 Gang Violence at Prison: VALDOSTA — Wednesday may have been the 4th of July holiday, but it was anything but a relaxing day off for corrections officials as gang violence erupted at Valdosta State Prison, injuring a number of inmates. A gang fight is thought to have broken out shortly before noon in a common area, and two guards were reported to have been slightly injured breaking up the melee, which involved an unknown number of prisoners. Homemade knives, or “shanks,” and other weapons were believed used by gang members in the fight. Officers who have direct prisoner contact are not allowed to carry weapons on prison grounds.

 Revamped CeaseFire hits the streets in Rockford: ROCKFORD — A cluster of cards, candles, flowers and a makeshift cross are often the centerpiece of a communitywide prayer vigil held at the scene of a homicide and attended by grieving family members and friends. In the first six months of the year, Rockford has recorded four homicides. It’s a 71 percent reduction compared with the 14 homicides recorded in the city over the same period in 2011.

 Officials may revive war against gang violence:  spate of gang shootings to kick off the summer is never a good sign, but it is one police expect. But now, five gang-related shootings — one in which an officer killed a man suspected of taking part in a gang-related shooting on Father’s Day — may be enough to kick-start what some would say is a necessary community conversation.

 Gang-related deaths are on the rise in Denver: Six young men. That's how many have lost their lives in gang-related murders this year between January and May, according to the Denver Police Department. Though there's been much speculation that 21-year-old Rollin Oliver, who was arrested in connection with the murder of Denver police officer Celena Hollis on June 24, was a gang member, the police department and Mayor Michael Hancock have been hesitant to confirm that.

 Gang fears rising : As police try to find two gunmen behind a deadly gang shooting which left one man dead and three injured in a northeast restaurant, they are bracing for the possibility of more violence. Organized crime Insp. Martin Schiavetta said Calgary has been “fortunate,” not seeing extreme violence witnessed in other cities recently. But we never take it for granted,” he said, adding police gang suppression tactics have never ceased.

 Police, FBI: Gangs not rare in N.H.: HAMPTON — A former member of the Hampton neighborhood crime watch wasn't shocked to learn one of five people arrested during recent drug raids at Hampton Beach and Seabrook allegedly had ties with the Latin Kings, an international street gang. "It doesn't surprise me at all," Linda Gebhart said. "I'm sure there is a lot more going on that we don't know about. I wish I could say, 'Not in my community,' but I know only too well there is some really dark stuff that goes on in any community." According to the FBI, there are 25 documented gangs in New Hampshire, and in recent years, there has been a growth in national criminal street gangs, such as the Latin Kings, starting chapters in the state.

 Denver cop killing returns spotlight to street gangs: The shooting death of Officer Celena Hollis — possibly the city's seventh gang-related slaying of 2012 — has forced talk of gangs, guns and poverty to the fore of public conversation. City leaders say they're taking stock of gang-prevention programs and working to douse dangerous tensions before they escalate into the type of all-out street war that some fear.

 Resolving Holland’s ‘gang problem’: Three teens, including two juveniles, were arrested on after at 14th Street fight between two groups. Residents can help limit or eliminate gang behavior by getting to know one another and by calling police to check out suspicious activities. Holland — Holland police officers and Ottawa County deputies are facing a similar challenge in fighting gang-related violence. No one who can help wants to talk.