ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Orlando Police Department and the FBI spoke about the ongoing gang violence in the county Friday morning.
As several gang-related incidents have happened across the county in the last month, leaders are pushing to end the violence.
.@OrlandoPolice Deputy Chief Jose Velez says #Orlando can’t just arrest ourselves out of this problem. He says OPD has youth programs to try and stop future gang problems. @FBI says it’s bringing in additional resources to make arrests. @WFTV #orlando #OrangeCounty #gangviolence pic.twitter.com/2TWOFi3pQC
— Cierra Putman WFTV (@CPutman_WFTV) October 16, 2020
Orange County Sheriff John Mina said between Orlando police and the sheriff’s office, more than 175 arrests have been made and more than 50 guns have been taken out of the hands of gang members.
Officials said there has to be a combination of holding gang members accountable and community involvement to help quell the violence.
“We have made over 100 gang related arrests but we cannot arrest our way out of this,” Orlando police deputy chief Jose Velez said. “Community involvement is a must.”
During the news conference, officials said their number one priority is targeting the two main gangs fueling the violence in Orange County, the 438 gang and the Army gang. They said each gang has around 50 members.
FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ronald Hopper said both criminal organizations have the FBI’s attention now.
“We share in the commitment to rid our neighborhoods of these violent criminal street gangs," Hopper said.
Last month, deputies said “gang feuds" were tied to several murders in the county, including the death of a 3-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy. A $20,000 reward for information has been issued in each case.
Mina said there are people in the community who know who is responsible for their deaths. He said it is up to them to call and get those responsible off the streets.
“We are all working together collectively to ensure the safety of our community," Mina said.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings plans to release details about a task force that will focus on gang-related crime.
Update from @SheriffMina on the number of arrests made. He says @OrangeCoSheriff also collected several guns from gang members including stolen guns. @WFTV @FBI #Orlando #gangviolence pic.twitter.com/CQbmNpySy3
— Cierra Putman WFTV (@CPutman_WFTV) October 16, 2020
Check back and watch Eyewitness News at Noon for live updates.
Watch the full news conference below:
READ: Orange County leaders push for end to gang violence as gun-related arrests continue
WATCH LIVE: Law enforcement officials give update on gang-related incidents in Orange CountyWATCH LIVE: Orange County sheriff, Orlando police and the FBI are releasing new information about recent gang violence in our area. DETAILS >> at.wftv.com/2SX7iXe
Posted by WFTV Channel 9 on Friday, October 16, 2020
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