Freedom Folks: The "New Americans?"

Source: PalmBeachPost

What McPhaul has seen during the past year is gang graffiti all over her territory, from the county seat of Quincy which has a population of about 7,000, to the even smaller towns of Chattahoochee, Havana and Greensboro.

The gang “tags” include those of large, violent, national gangs such as the Bloods, Crips, Insane Gangster Disciples, Sur 13 and Mara Salvatrucha - or MS 13.

Gadsden has long had local street gangs: the Chat Boys from Chattahoochee, 773 gang from Quincy, the Killer Hard Boys from the Hardaway neighborhood, who have little history of violence.

What worries Gadsden authorities is that these local “wannabes” have come in contact with representatives of larger, national gangs and that gang activity could quickly become much more serious and bloody.

“I know for a fact there are MS 13 here,” says one veteran Quincy social worker who asks that her name not be used. “Some real hoods have shown up here. They say it’s because the police in El Salvador have just started shooting gang members down there, so they come here because we have a Salvadoran community here.”

How lovely!