They were the only drive-by shootings anyone around Kennesaw could remember.
Five men, members of the Piru Bloods, were eventually indicted for the shootings, which took place in November 2013 and the following January. They were directed by higher-ups to kill an associate, Elijah Vento, who tried to leave the gang, said Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds.
No one was ever shot but the attempts sent a message to Cobb’s top prosecutor.
“Gangs were on the back burner for me when I took office,” said Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds, elected in 2012. “But if I get a second term, they will be my first priority. It’s a growing problem and, if we don’t get a handle on it fast, it’ll grow beyond our control.”
Police and prosecutors in metro Atlanta say they’ve observed a dramatic increase in gang membership and activity. Though concrete numbers are hard to come by, the anecdotal evidence is significant.
The spike is being driven by an infiltration of national gangs such as the Bloods, Crips and Gangster Disciples, said Jim Hurley, an agent with the FBI’s Atlanta’s Safe Streets Gang Task Force. He estimates there are up to 20,000 members in metro Atlanta — a significant increase since 2000.
And they’re showing up in places you’d least expect. While collecting evidence in the Kennesaw drive-by shootings, Reynolds interviewed a former gang member who said the Bloods had established a presence in every Cobb County high school.
“We’re reaching a crisis point,” he said.
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