MORRISANIA, Bronx (WABC) — Eighteen minors and a 28-year-old alleged gang leader have been charged in a string of shootings in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, officials announced on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Bronx district attorney says after a 13-month investigation with the NYPD, Operation Red Zone has taken down 19 alleged gang members.<\/p>\n
Officials say they are linked to more than a dozen shootings that injured four innocent bystanders, including a woman who was shot in her stomach while walking her dog.<\/p>\n
Nearly every one of the 19 gunmen arrested are juveniles — allegedly members of four rival gangs, blasting off over a turf war.<\/p>\n
“To allegedly fire bullets wildly on our streets, violence for the sake of violence, to assert control over their territories,” said Bronx DA Darcel Clark.<\/p>\n
Eyewitness News was there in September when a school bus filled with about half a dozen students with special needs was peppered with bullets.<\/p>\n
One pierced the back window and two rounds pelted the side of the bus. Witnesses say the bus driver threw herself on top of students.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors say the alleged gang members are responsible for 13 shootings and have been indicted for conspiracy to commit murder.<\/p>\n
Among the arrested was an alleged gang leader, 28-year-old Tyreik Seth.<\/p>\n
“The crews in today’s takedown turned the Morrisania section of the Bronx into their own violent playground, exchanging gunfire with rivals, injuring four innocent bystanders, and putting countless New Yorkers at risk,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.<\/p>\n
Clark described another incident that left a mother and her son ducking for cover.<\/p>\n
“A mother and her young son were getting into their car and they experienced the shots flying over them and she pushed the boy inside the car and she laid on top of him and you could see the panic on her face and you could see the little boy about to cry,” Clark said. “How much longer will we tolerate the trauma to our communities and the lives of so many young people to prison?”<\/p>\n
Investigators say they are still hunting for three alleged gang members still at large.<\/p>\n
The woman who was shot in her stomach while walking her dog is still recovering from her injuries.<\/p>\n
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