Gangs are still very gender-stratified and are mostly led by males. Females have to negotiate dual gender roles. Because of the unusual nature of the Norcross shooting, it has garnered plenty of attention from the media, the public and law enforcement. In response, Gwinnett District Attorney Danny Porter and investigators from Gwinnett and surrounding metro communities, the GBI and the Federal Gang Task Force agreed to meet and discuss the case and the possibility of linking other crimes to Vatos Locos. Authorities are trying to link Roswell carjackings, at least one Atlanta homicide and drive-by shootings in DeKalb to the gang.
Gangs are only an inner city problem.
Gwinnett County is no exception. Gwinnett police have identified and keep tabs on more than 1,000 known gang members, roughly 6 percent of whom are female, Silva says. Nationally, statistics show the number of girls connected with gang activity has increased from about 3 percent to as much as 15 percent in the last decade, Silva says. Walter J. Marchant Jr., a gang expert and master instructor at the Georgia Police Academy in Forsyth, describes the Norcross shootings as unusual for metro Atlanta and Georgia, but not surprising. But we've got women in the military trained as killers, so it should be of no shock that young women are killing each other in gangs.