The Region News
Violence Rising Among Young Gang Members
Immaturity Blocks Understanding of Actions and Consequences, Police and Social Workers Say
By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Twice this year, police say, Montgomery County teens as young as 14 took part in gang- related attacks that left one man dead of a stab wound to his heart and one dead with a stab wound to his head. “We’re seeing the level of vio- lence get younger and younger,” said Montgomery police Sgt. Chuck Welch, head of the coun- ty’s gang unit, describing the ar- ray of cases he has worked on in the past year. Many young gang members share this much with other teen- agers: They’re not mature enough to fully grasp the rela- tionship between action and con- sequence, police and social work- ers say. Instead of skipping class and failing geometry, though, they are taking part in crimes that turn fatal and facing dec- ades in prison. “They don’t have the reason- ing abilities of an adult,” Welch said.
In terms of overall crime in the
county, gang members commit a relatively small slice — less than 2 percent, police estimate — and young gang members commit
less still.
But their deepening capacity for violence is cause for worry, Welch said. It indicates that teenagers increasingly are heed- ing gang leaders’ promises of status, protection and being part of a family.
“They’re starting to buy into that whole mythology,” Welch said. Police have identified 1,207 gang members in Montgomery and 33 active gangs. To try to steer young people from gangs, Welch and others work with groups such as Gai- thersburg-based Identity Inc., which helps Hispanic youths. Identity provides after-school programs at nine county schools; helps organize back- packing trips and kayaking les- sons; and is the lead agency of the Crossroads Youth Opportu- nity Center, in Takoma Park, which offers social-skills build- ing, tattoo removal and mental health services. On Monday, three young men
working at Identity’s headquar- ters for the summer offered rea- sons why they think other youths are drawn to gangs.
See GANGS, Page 8
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BY DAN MORSE — THE WASHINGTON POST
Jose Lovos, 17, left, Oscar Lemus, 20, and Sergio Reyes, 20, talk about why they think teens and young adults might be drawn to gangs. The three work at Gaithersburg-based Identity Inc., which offers programs to Hispanic youths.
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