Drill Rapper DThang's River Park Towers Gang Charged With Indictment

Authorities announced a sprawling 65-count indictment Tuesday involving the River Park Towers gang, alleging the criminal enterprise operating in and around the housing complex overlooking the Harlem River was responsible for multiple shootings and the live-streamed killing of a pigeon. Officials announced the indictments of 23 gang members for gun crimes, attempted murder and Rikers Island beatdowns of a rival gang member and a correction officer. Seven defendants were charged for blasting 11 gunshots into a building vestibule in August 2020, narrowly missing the head of one target. These defendants allegedly engaged in gun violence, committing six shootings, one which injured a rival gang member,” said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. “They allegedly fired wildly on the streets without regard for the lives of anyone else. Authorities also recounted members of the Highbridge neighborhood crew streaming video of the doomed pigeon, comparing the bird to a rival Crips gang member who invaded their turf. If we get 100 views, we’ll kill it,” said one of the gangbangers, with the bird then beaten to death with a cane on Facebook Live after the audience broke the century mark. Those involved face an additional misdemeanor count of animal cruelty, officials said.

According to officials, the River Park Towers crew bragged about their violent behavior and access to firearms in drill rap videos posted on social media. The conspiracy indictment cited seven shootings and eight cases of gun possession, with ballistics linking one of the weapons to three shootings a distinctive black and tan weapon that appeared in one of their videos. The gang is a subset of the Bloods and linked to the Young Gunners, according to a police source. The youngest of the nearly two dozen defendants was a 17-year-old, authorities said, while the others ranged in age from 18 to 34. The indictments, announced by Clark and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, came with a call from the Bronx prosecutor for a summit of borough rappers, record companies and radio stations to address the violence in the birthplace of hip hop. Mayor Adams has criticized drill rap as fueling gang beef that explode into real-life violence.

Officials were seeking six fugitive members of the gang. Nine of the defendants were arraigned earlier this month, while another eight were already behind bars on other charges, the officials said. The takedown came as Bronx police continue to battle a nearly 2% bump in shootings, up from 154 last year to 157 so far this year. Sewell said the long-term Gun Violence Suppression Division probes were “precisely focused tools” in dealing with the scourge of gun violence across the city. They underscore the importance of our mission to protect those who cannot protect themselves, in this case a violent crew whose members stand accused of multiple shootings, assaults and other crimes,” she said.

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