FBI Warns Gang Members Have 'Formed a Pact' To Attack Police Officers
An FBI “situational information report” warned Chicago-area law enforcement that gang members have “formed a pact to ‘shoot on-site'” any police officer who has a weapon drawn on a suspect in public.
The Aug. 26 alert obtained by WLS-TV says “members of these gang factions have been actively searching for, and filming, police officers in performance of their official duties.”
“The purpose of which is to catch on film an officer drawing his/her weapon on any subject and the subsequent ‘shoot on-sight’ of said officer, in order to garner national media attention,” the alert titled “Pact Made by People Nation Gang Factions to ‘Shoot On-Site’ Any Police Officer with a Weapon Drawn” read.
The alert listed nearly three dozen Chicago street gangs including the Latin Kings, Vice Lords, El Rukns and Black P Stones.
Investigators frequently distribute alerts to law enforcement agencies, especially when there is a threat to officers.
The recent alert came from “a contact whose reporting is limited and whose reliability cannot be determined,” meaning it could be anyone from a witness in an ongoing case to a police street source to discussions heard on a wiretap.
Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown told reporters on Monday that there is an increasing danger to police officers.
“I think it’s bigger than a suggestion,” Brown said.
“I think 51 officers being shot at or shot in one year, I think that quadruples any previous year in Chicago’s history. So I think it’s more than a suggestion that people are seeking to do harm to cops.”
Police told the WLS ABC7 I-Team that they are aware of the gang threat and will take all necessary measures to protect their officers.
“We need police officers and as community members, we need to push back fervently against lawlessness,” Brown said.
In an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Aug. 11, Chicago 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale said the city is in “total unrest.”
“I think the mayor has lost the confidence and the control of this city,” he said of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “She’s listening to the wrong people and the wrong people are really leading this unrest in the city of Chicago.”
“The aldermans are the ones elected by their constituency and there is a total disregard of listening to the alderman who knows the post of this city and knows the post of their ward.”
The alert and comments from Superintendent Brown come after 54 people, including two police officers, were shot over the weekend, WLS reported.
Ten people have died from gunshot wounds, but the officers are expected to live.
The two Chicago police officers were shot during a 2:30 a.m. traffic stop, but there is currently no evidence to suggest the shooting was part of a gang assassination plot described in the alert.
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