Following a rash of violent crime in Erie with one case linked by police to gang activity, we sat down with the chief of police to ask just how big of an issue gangs are in the city.
Over the weekend, a man was arrested for attempted murder in what Erie police classified as a gang-related shooting on German Street.
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Erie police look at traditional evidence in these crimes, but for gang-related activity, social media can be a useful way to connect dots between incidents.
Chief of police Rick Lorah said gang activity is present in Erie but not any more than most cities.
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“Some of our Eagle task force arrests, that you know we’ve arrested 50-60 individuals in these roundups. Gang violence obviously slows after something like that, but unfortunately when those individuals leave, someone else replaces them so it ebbs and flows at this point in time, I don’t see any major uptick,” he explained.
Lorah says that most gang violence is linked to drug trafficking.
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