Latest news with #gangrecruitment
CBC
04-07-2025
- CBC
Toronto police report fewer youth gun arrests, but worry gang recruitment online rising
Online youth gang recruitment is a growing concern, Toronto police say 3 minutes ago Duration 3:03 Social Sharing Toronto police say youth firearm arrests have declined so far this year — a welcome shift after last year's spike, though major concerns remain, including the rise of gang recruitment on social media. So far in 2025, police say they have made 83 youth firearm arrests, compared to 105 over the same period last year — a drop of 21 per cent. However, Insp. Paul Krawczyk isn't celebrating just yet. This is still the second-worst year for such arrests in the last five, he told CBC Toronto. "I worry that [last year] is not just a spike, but obviously I don't have a crystal ball." Police say there were 175 total youth firearm arrests in 2024, which was 59 per cent higher than the 110 arrests made in 2023. In 2022, there were 94 youth firearm arrests, and 83 in 2021. But while arrests are down so far this year, there have already been a number of high profile crimes involving teens. In January, Toronto police arrested and charged four teenage boys they believed were behind a carjacking and two robberies that month. Three teens were charged with first-degree murder in connection with a fatal double shooting in Toronto's Riverdale neighbourhood in April, and last month, a 15-year-old boy was killed in a shooting in York. WATCH | Toronto's youth firearm arrests spiked in 2024, up 161% in 2 years: Spike in Toronto gun violence partly due to gangs recruiting kids, police say 12 months ago Duration 4:02 Toronto police say a spike in gun violence this year is a city-wide priority. Over the past six days, there have been seven shootings in the city — including two that were fatal. As youth firearm arrests in particular skyrocket, police say an escalating amount of the violence is coming from gangs recruiting children. CBC's Chris Glover has more. Krawczyk says police are a major partner in FOCUS Toronto — a program made up of several agencies and community groups that come together to help prevent crime and connect with youth in vulnerable communities. The hope, he says, is to help stop gang recruitment before it happens. "I do worry that youth, through social media, through the apps on their phones, are getting contracted to do some of these shootings," said Krawczyk. "A lot of money is being thrown at them, and we may not see a decrease without the combined efforts of everyone." Ex-gang leader works to curb recruitment on social media Those efforts include community programs like the One by One Movement. Founder Marcell Wilson says the non-profit organization is focused on decreasing acts of violence and connecting with vulnerable youth before they're potentially exposed to crime. A former gang leader-turned-anti-violence advocate, Wilson says the issue of vulnerable young people being recruited on social media platforms by gang members is underaddressed. His organization has a program dedicated to the issue, targeted at parents and community members. It starts with the basics of social media and how the platforms work, and goes into some of the language youth use that their parents may be unfamiliar with, aiming to close the generational disconnect when it comes to what young people are doing on their phones. "It's about teaching them the nuances of the platforms being used and even sometimes language," Wilson said. "You'll have a parent who doesn't understand the language being used and because of that, they have no idea their children are involved in certain activities." Police deploying more resources to certain areas Krawczyk says to deal with gun violence overall, police have been strategically deploying more resources to specific areas, based on crime data across Toronto. "Clearly if police are out there, you know it's going to make a difference and deter some of these shootings and discharges," he said. Last month, the city announced an extra $5 million in funding for anti-violence programs for young people. Mayor Olivia Chow said the safety plan will help 3,000 young people and more than 500 families participate in summer recreation and youth violence prevention programs. Initiatives like that are applauded by Toronto police and organizations like Wilson's, but both say parents should also keep on top of their kids' social media presence, and tech giants should also put more resources into combatting youth crime on their platforms. "There's not enough cohesion between the different entities, between the community, the organizations, law enforcement and the decision makers," Wilson said.
The Independent
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Maryland father mistakenly deported to Salvadoran prison really did flee to avoid MS-13 gang, his teacher and a classmate said
A Maryland father who was erroneously deported back to El Salvador really did flee his home country to avoid gang recruitment, school records obtained by The Washington Post show. There is no official evidence linking Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the MS-13 gang, despite repeated claims from Donald Trump 's administration. The president and administration officials claim Abrego Garcia's tattoos are evidence of alleged gang ties, but law enforcement officials and gang experts say they do not definitively indicate any gang affiliation. Although the Salvadoran boy was of prime age to be recruited by MS-13, like many boys in his neighborhood, Abrego Garcia was not one of them, his teacher and a classmate said in the report provided to The Washington Post. School records from 2003 to 2011 reportedly state that Abrego Garcia consistently demonstrated 'very good conduct.' His friends, however, did become concerned during his school years that Abrego Garcia may be having issues at home. 'He seemed sad, like his mind was on something else,' an anonymous classmate told the outlet. Abrego Garcia fled to the United States in 2011 at age 16 to join his older brother after gang threats against him and his family, according to his attorneys. Last month, Abrego Garcaa's wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura told The Washington Post that her husband's fears from childhood followed him for years, making him cry and sweat in his sleep. 'He never talked about them, but I could see it,' Vasquez Sura said. Following a March traffic stop, Abrego Garcia was detained by federal agents and deported to El Salvador's brutal Terrorism Confinement Center despite a court order preventing his removal from the country. He was later transferred to a Salvadoran prison for non-gang members. He had been working as a sheet-metal apprentice and living with his wife and their 5-year-old child, both U.S. citizens, along with two other children from a previous relationship. Last month, District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the Trump administration to 'facilitate' Abrego Garcia's return to the United States. The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed Xinis's ruling and called his removal 'illegal.' Xinis has since clashed with government attorneys as they push to withhold details on what, if anything, has been done to return him. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland traveled to El Salvador to meet Abrego Garcia as members of Congress demand the administration return him to U.S. soil, where government attorneys can present evidence against him to support his removal. Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey is now traveling to El Salvador to try and meet with Abrego Garcia. 'The court orders for him to come back so that he can have his day in court,' Ivey told WBAL News Radio. 'We're not afraid of him having his day in court. That's what due process is all about. He needs to be brought back so he can have his day in court.' Republicans have opposed efforts to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States, citing allegations of criminality and a protective order filed by his wife in 2020, which she later rescinded. Ivey is expected to return from El Salvador on Tuesday.
Washington Post
24-05-2025
- Washington Post
As a boy in El Salvador, Abrego García feared gangs, avoided recruitment
SAN SALVADOR — The gang name was scrawled onto classroom desks and written on bathroom walls. At the school where Kilmar Abrego García spent most of his adolescence, the students all knew who was in charge of the neighborhood: MS-13. It was a prime age for gang recruitment. A Salvadoran boy who was old enough to speak into a cellphone was old enough to work for a gang. Before their voices had even changed, the students knew who among them had joined.
