The Latest News on Gangs: Is there a gang epidemic?

In Washington DC:D.C. Jury Convicts 3 in Deadly Gang Plot
In a major strike against the Latino gangs that have taken root across the region, three men were convicted yesterday in D.C. Superior Court of carrying out a murderous conspiracy that left four members of rival gangs dead.

N.Va. Gang Members Indicted
Two members of the violent street gang Mara Salvatrucha were indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on racketeering charges that included the slaying of a Herndon teenager, drawing federal authorities deeper into Northern Virginia's struggle against gangs.

In Los Angeles:There are about 100,000 gangsters in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties, and they account for at least half the region's homicides. About 80,000 to 85,000 of those gangsters are in Los Angeles County, which has the nation's largest gang problem.

In South Carolina:Authorities have identified between 80 and 100 gangs in South Carolina, Stewart said."To the average citizen, this is a subculture in our society that most of us don't know much about," McMaster said. "It's hard to believe that it's actually going on, but it is. It's in every neighborhood. Rich, poor; old, young; black, white; it doesn't make any difference. It's all over the place."

In Kansas: "We've got Mexican gangs, Asian gangs and black gangs," said Shirley Smith, a longtime resident of Planeview. "And as the children grow up, they look up to gang members."

QUIZ:DO GANGS SHOW THEIR COLORS WHERE YOU LIVE?

Also, the latest on that Honduras incident, apparently it wasn't the gangs.
The attackers left behind a note saying they represented the Cinchonero People's Liberation Movement, a revolutionary group opposed to the reintroduction of the death penalty in Honduras.

Possible solutions to the gang problem: Programs aimed at youth and organizations like Barrios Unidos. Check out the Barrios Unidos website. The success of such organizations is crucial, or more sad stories like this one,14-Year-Old Charged in Fatal Stabbing of Va. Store Clerk, will continue.