Police Under Greater Attack by Sophisticated Street Gangs

If what is happening in California is any indication, gang members, fueled by drug and extortion money, are using more sophisticated means to attack specific police units. Two recent assassination attempts on Hemet, Calif., gang task-force officers add to a national trend of more brazen and sophisticated attacks on police, often by gang members, law enforcement experts say. The attacks on the Hemet-San Jacinto Gang Task Force headquarters come amid an increase of violence against police nationwide this year that could reverse a trend of declining officer deaths. Both attempts in Hemet failed, but were characterized as unusually violent. Last week, a bullet fired by an altered gun narrowly missed an officer opening a parking lot gate at the task force’s building, a block from the police station. On New Year’s Eve, the same building was targeted when a gas line was rerouted to rig the building to explode when officers stepped inside. Experts say attacks on a police facility, such as the ones against the Hemet Gang Task Force building, are nearly unheard of. The FBI has joined the task force in the investigation of the attacks.

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