Cops in Queens took down members of two notorious gangs that terrorized parts of the Rockaways, Jamaica and Springfield Gardens with gunplay that wounded more than a dozen people, including a pedestrian.
Nearly 30 people were arrested in two separate anti-gang operations that targeted turf wars across several swaths of the borough, officials said.
“The streets of Queens will be safer this summer thanks to the hard work of prosecutors in my Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau and our NYPD partners,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
The Southeast Queens crackdown was the larger of the anti-gang initiatives. That operation netted 22 arrests of gang members involved in shootings dating back to 2023
Katz said those arrested are members of the Blitz Gang 4, which she said was responsible for 11 shootings and one stabbing that left three people wounded, including one man who is now paralyzed.
The D.A. said the Blitz gang is a subset of the Bloods, and was based out of the Baisley Park Houses in South Jamaica.
Nine months ago, in what Katz called “the second half of the equation,” police and prosecutors teamed up to take down another violent gang, known as the Floss Money Ballers, one of the Blitz gang’s chief rivals.
“The wanton violence between members of Blitz Gang 4 and Floss Money Ballers has terrorized Southeast Queens communities for the past two years, putting countless innocent residents at risk,” Katz said.
The violence between the Blitz gang and its rivals escalated after 18-year-old Akim Cisse was shot to death by Rayvon Phillip, a reputed Blitz member, outside a Springfield Gardens McDonald’s in September 2024.
Phillip was sentenced to 21 years in jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Meanwhile, five reputed gang members were arrested for their roles in a shooting spree in the Rockaways that wounded two people in March and April.
They were connected to three shootings, including one where a pedestrian was struck in the foot.