FBI Issues Warning About Gangs Transplanted From New Orleans (Katrina)

Houston could have a new crime wave in the wake of Hurricane Katrina brought in by New Orleans gangs, the FBI warned Wednesday.

The FBI intelligence memo obtained by KPRC Local 2 warned other law enforcement agencies that gang member evacuees might bring an "us versus them" mentality that could lead to shootings and other violence all over Houston.

On Tuesday, a group of Louisiana evacuees and students from a southeast Houston high school were involved in a fight, which escalated into a riot that closed school early.

"Yesterday took away the opportunity to pretend there was no problem," said Gayle Fallon, with the Houston Federation of Teachers.

Up to 25 students were involved in the 8 a.m. fight at Jesse Jones High School, located at 7414 St. Lo.

Fallon said the bloody brawl may be the first of many unless the troublemakers are removed to disciplinary schools.

"There are no second chances on this or we could see our schools out of control," Fallon said.

The FBI said gangs will emerge as a sense of security wherever evacuees gather. The memo said gangs would steal guns and set up new drug connections as they take hold of the turf of Houston gangs.

"They may not have specific colors. They may have tattoos, they may not," said Chuck Brawner, with the Spring Branch Independent School District.

Brawner said there have been no problems within Spring Branch ISD but his officers are watching for clashes with existing gang members or anything else that happens.

The FBI would not comment on the warning to police agencies. It listed the names of 15 gangs. Only one of those gangs wears colors to identify themselves, which officials said would make it more difficult to track.

There are conflicting accounts of this story and the version published by the Houston Mirror seems sensationalized compared to the others. All sources agree that it was one Houston student who threw a soda can at a group of New Orleans students, but the numbers in each group were small, like 3 in one and 2 in the other. How this developed into a "riot" that got so far out of hand that school had to be closed by midday I'm not certain.

I certainly agree that the potential for clashes between Houston and New Orleans residents exists, and not just in the school system. I've seen it here in Central Louisiana, too, where there are two distinct classes of displaced families.

The media focused on the impoverished people who didn't evacuate the city. The truth, however, is that the first wave of evacuees were suburban professional families who could afford to leave for what they believed would be a 4-day trip. When the date expired on their hotel reservations, they were kicked out of their rooms and had to go to shelters. These families were later joined by busloads of urban poor from New Orleans. In fact, Jesse Jackson personally came here in the middle of the night and dropped 200 of them off in our town.

When the City of Pineville decided to consolidate all the evacuees scattered around town into one large shelter, there was a backlash because the first group didn't want to be housed with the second group. The local churches also feared for their safety and didn't want to send their guests to the large shelter. One man from the first group was interviewed about this and he said of the new arrivals from the Superdome, "They don't like to shower much." When the Red Cross told these churches they would lose their subsidies if they didn't cooperate, they pulled out of the network anyway and are continuing to house these families at their own expense. The Red Cross went on to pull the plug at other shelters, which meant that people are continuing to be housed at Rapides Parish Coliseum, our own "dome" so to speak.

This week a "Katrina Job Fair" was held in Alexandria where 50 employers met with 300-400 job seekers to offer them work. Again, there were two classes of people. Nicely dressed professionals clutched portfolios on one side of the room, while teenagers in tattered t-shirts filled out applications for fast-food restaurants on the other. Although the community has been very kind and supportive toward the displaced families here, I can't help but wonder if it will last much longer. Local residents have a hard time finding work as it is. However, every story I've read profiling a displaced family in one of the shelters always includes a mention of instantly getting a new job here, including at least two coveted civil service positions. Can you imagine the tension that will eventually result from employers repeatedly giving preferential treatment to newcomers while the original residents stay jobless?

KALB Newschannel 5 reported that Rapides Parish schools have registered 1,725 new children alone. There were waiting lists for certain schools in the district even before Katrina, such as in the magnet program. It probably won't cause too much static at the elementary level, but I predict it's only a matter of time before something unpleasant happens in one of the high schools.

We'll just have to wait and see, I guess...

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