Gilbert said MS-13 once was solely made up of El Salvadorans but has expanded its membership to countries as far away as Argentina. Cliques have sprung up in several towns and cities in New Jersey, often where migrant laborers and transients live, he said.
The nature of the crime which authorities said began as a robbery and ended with the three friends forced to kneel in front of a wall before being shot in the back of the head also may provide some clues, according to a community activist who has tracked gang activity in the greater Newark area for more than 20 years.
MS-13 members "are the most vicious of all gangs Latin Kings, Bloods, Crips," said Salaam Ismial, director of the United Youth Council, a locally based group with affiliates in several other cities including New York and Washington, D.C. "They have no remorse. They'll cut your throat in a minute."
Ismial began noticing the presence of MS-13 in Elizabeth, which has a significant El Salvadoran population, within the last 10 years. He said members of other gangs have told him they consider MS-13 to be the roughest group, even by street standards.
"The Crips and Bloods, they'll do street fighting with knives and guns, that kind of stuff, but these guys will chop you up," he said. "It's not the kill, it's the whole dynamic of the kill."
Associated Press writers Jeffrey Gold in Newark and Tom Hester Jr. in Trenton contributed to this story.
- Associated Press
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