# violence
Seventeen suspected gang members responsible for a string of shootings were indicted on 118 counts in Brooklyn on Tuesday, officials announced
The Brooklyn district attorney's office said the defendants, 14 of whom were teenagers, were accused of hunting down rival gang members and carrying out a series of armed attacks that left four dead and 10 injured in the process. One of the most troubling aspects of this case is the age of the defendants in this indictment. Some of them were as young as 14 or 15 when they committed the crimes, Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said at a news conference.
"It's heartbreaking that some of our county's youngest residents are involved in this kind of gang and gun violence... It's devastating, and it really is devastating." Prosecutors said the alleged baby-face killer was a member of the YPF gang - an alliance of three street gangs in Brownsville, East New York and Fort Greene that banded together to bolster their power when waging war with the enemy.
Videos obtained throughout the investigation allegedly showed the teens showing off their guns in a series of social media posts, including one of the accused putting a gun in the mouth of a puppy, which he grabbed by the scruff of the neck.
"These videos really show, and have come to light in the course of the investigation, how deep-rooted this problem is and how this gang and gun culture has fascinated these young people. They brandished these guns. They show them off. They brag about them. These guns are somehow what they think makes them men, "Gonzales told reporters.