Gang members charged with dozens of Philly shootings used music videos to brag about murders: DA
Philly shooting groups charged in major bust: Everything we know
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office announced charges against over a dozen individuals from multiple street groups in connection with a series of shootings in West, South, and Southwest Philadelphia, resulting in five homicides and 35 shooting victims.
PHILADELPHIA - Nearly two dozen alleged Philadelphia gang members and gang associates were charged Wednesday in connection with a string of more than 20 shootings across the city going back several years, the District Attorney's Office announced.
Officials said the suspects "bragged" about the shootings, including several murders, in music videos published online, perpetuating "cyclical" violence.
Gang-related shootings
What we know:
The DA's office announced charges against 19 people Wednesday, including alleged members of the Young Bag Chasers (YBC), Campers Clappers Klappers (CCK), Parkside Killers (PSK) gangs and their alleged associates.
Philly DA charges 12+ in street group shootings with 35 victims: FULL PRESSER
The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office and members of the DAO's Gun Violence Task Force will announce charges against over a dozen defendants belonging to multiple South and Southwest Philadelphia street groups who engaged in numerous shootings in their neighborhoods and across Philadelphia. These shootings occurred between 2022 and 2024 and resulted in 35 victims in total, ranging from ages 5 to 42-years-old.
Anthony Woodson, Ronnie Vincent-Quan, Herman Stigall, Markees Muhammad, Stephen Weddington, Jymir Burbage and Hasin Muse were all charged with murder and related charges. Mark Johnson and Kasim Brown were charged with attempted murder and related charges. Salahuddin Carter, Jerwayne Haywood, Quamere Hall, Hassan Stafford, Paul Beckwith and Nasir Wells were all charged with aggravated assault and related charges. Tatiana Edwards was charged with conspiracy to murder. Three other suspects were not named.
While several of the suspects were already in custody for other crimes, the remaining suspects were arrested Wednesday morning, officials said.
Prosecutors accused these suspects of 21 shootings across Philadelphia between September 2022 and May 2024, including five murders.
More than 30 people were injured in these shootings, the DA's Office said, including an 8-year-old and a group of people attending a memorial for a victim of gun violence.
Suspects bragged about shootings in music videos
What they're saying:
Prosecutors accused gang members of bragging about their crimes in music videos. Suspects would boast about shootings or murders online, and rival gangs would retaliate.
"A lot of the ways in which they are getting their message out there is via social media, and via music videos," Assistant District Attorney Anna Walters. "…I think it's horrific what they've done with music."
William Fritze, chief of the Gun Violence Task Force, criticized the suspects' "arrogance" in sharing the music videos on social media, and profiting off them.
"They're monetizing this," "…We're not dealing with drug dealers shooting at each other. We're not dealing with some sort of corrupt organization. The corrupt organization is the fact that the citizens of Philadelphia are going on and watching drill music. And then the commercials come on, and these gang members are getting paid."
Fritze went on to urge "parents in this city, if your children are listening to violent drill music, get them off of YouTube and [stop them from] watching these videos. When we get on, and we watch and that commercial gets on, whoever pulled that trigger is getting funding to do it again."
The Source: Information in this story is from the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.