NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Sixteen people were indicted for their involvement with 21 shootings that occurred in upper Manhattan in an alleged war between the LA World and “Wuski” gangs, city officials announced on Tuesday.
The alleged gang war broke out when member of the LA World, Harry Mendoza, was killed alongside 16-year-old Ashley Ballard on March 24, 2024, authorities said.
According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, LA World operated out of NYCHA’s Lehman and AK Houses, while Wuski worked out of NYCHA’s Johnson Houses, all of which are in East Harlem.
Almost all of the shootings, many retaliatory in nature, happened between March and September of 2024. Many of the incidents occurred outside and gunmen fired indiscriminately towards groups of people on the street or in NYCHA courtyards, officials said.
The conflict between the two gangs accounted for 50% of shooting incidents in East Harlem, the NYPD’s 23rd Precinct, during that time.
“We are not going to stand by while a small number of violent offenders terrorize our neighbors and our children,” Mayor Eric Adams said in response to the statistic. “This is what we are talking about when we say that there are often a small number of people who are causing a large share of crimes across our city, and that’s why this indictment and the removal of these criminals from our streets is vital in making our city safer.”
Nine alleged LA World members and seven alleged Wuski members are charged in two separate indictments, totaling 108 counts. The indictments include charges like conspiracy with the intent to commit murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Fifteen guns were recovered throughout the investigation.
“[These gang members] opened fire near residential buildings, showed a complete disregard for innocent life, and fueled a dangerous pattern of retaliation that devastated this community,” Tisch said. “We’re seeing record-low shootings across the city—and it’s because of targeted cases like this, where precision policing delivers real results.”
Authorities said that individuals from both gangs exchanged messages on Instagram and Telegram to plan and discuss the shootings, sharing screenshots of Citizen App notifications about the incidents and pictures of guns they purchased or wanted to sell.
“We have absolutely no tolerance for this pervasive, indiscriminate gun violence, which jeopardized the lives of many innocent bystanders,” Bragg said. “We will continue to work with our community partners and elected officials to make investments in youth who are at risk of gun violence so we can stop these patterns of violence before they occur.”