Posted on 05/30/2007 11:48:16 AM PDT by restornu
Two Staples employees and a shopping center customer are beaten by underage gang members, all over their red clothing.
Two Petaluma store employees and a shopping center customer were beaten by reputed gang members, apparently for wearing red clothing, police said Tuesday.
The attacks happened near the Staples office supply store on South McDowell Boulevard, where two workers and another person were assaulted.
Two 17-year-olds, a boy and a girl, were later arrested. It was the second attack in Petaluma over colors in two months. In April, a 12-year-old boy was hit on the head with a skateboard after he refused to take off a red shirt.
"It's the same thing we keep running into," said Sgt. Jim Stephenson, head of the Petaluma police gang unit. "Guys going after colors."
The three people assaulted at the Washington Square Shopping Center wore red. The Staples employees were dressed in red uniform polo shirts.
None of the victims was a gang member, police said. The attacks occurred Friday.
In one instance, a Staples employee was standing outside the store when the suspects began yelling gang slogans and challenging him to fight, Petaluma Police Sgt. Dave Kahl said.
He started to walk into the store when they began hitting him with their fists. Another employee came to his aid and also was assaulted, Kahl said. One victim was 18 and the other was 21.
A third victim, whose age was not available, flagged down an officer in the parking lot and said described the car driven by the suspects, Kahl said.
Police stopped the car nearby and witnesses identified the suspects, Kahl said.
Both were arrested and booked on suspicion of committing battery for gang purposes. The male suspect also was held on suspicion of drunken driving, Kahl said. They were booked into Sonoma County Juvenile Hall.
Staples has 190 stores in California and workers clad in the company's polo shirts have been assaulted at other stores because the color is claimed by gangs, spokeswoman Amy Shanler said.
In some cases, Staples has changed the uniform to prevent further attacks, Shanler said.
She wouldn't say where the company had changed its uniform colors. It was unknown if Friday's beating in Petaluma will trigger a switch.
"We have changed the uniform before because of the gang situation," she said. "There hasn't been anything discussed as far as this situation."
Well, of course, California is a "blue state".
Were the attackers wearing brown or black shirts?
Sheesh...this isn’t far from where I live. So much for living in a “small town” and not worrying about gangs...apparently I’m naive and think the best of people, but not anymore...damn punks.
Great idea. Empower the gangs even more you idiot!
An interesting phenomenon, all right. You've really gotta wonder what prompts kids to get so stupid over the color of somebody's shirt -- probably an attempt to get "street cred," or whatever they're calling it now.
Still, I can't help comparing these kids to the salamikaze bastards they always show, throwing rocks at a burning truck. Both sets of folks have grown up in insane societies.
Conceal and carry, anyone?
Sheer idiocy must be a major requirement for gang membership. Just as, in a drive-by shooting, they seldom seem to get the intended victim, but instead wind up taking out an old lady or a child or the A-student who is captain of the football team — now these punks are beating up Staples employees—and random individuals — for wearing red shirts.
I don’t know how their minds work — but I do know that the police need to start cleaning this crap off the streets. People get so they’re hesitant to leave the house and going about their normal business — like going to work —for fear of winding up a victim of these savages and cretins.
Noticed how the press never mention which gang but than it might be a small town paper and they don’t need to get burn down if the the Law is not set to protect the working community because the thugs has rights!
Fools. Either fight for your homes and cities or surrender fully to the gangs. Either way, nasty stuff will happen. If you fight, it will be long and difficult, but you will have a secure future for your children. If you surrender, you will be nothing but SLAVES. It seems some people have already chosen to be slaves.
If this sounds familiar, it is because we are facing the exact same choices with the Islamic fascists. Fight or surrender.
Gangs are gangs. They are like cockroaches. Shine light on them and squish.
The United States needs its own version of Devil’s Island. We should dump all the gangsters there and let’em hash it out.
underage gang members
There’s a legal limit for illegal gang membership?
Simple solution.
The gang members get to wear pink panties over their heads (while in jail).
Oh wait..that is not permitted.
they seldom seem to get the intended victim, but instead wind up taking out an old lady or a child or the A-student who is captain of the football team
In a terrorist org, these would be the intended targets. The base of power is terror and “random” attacks generate fear. The “innocent bystander” gets shot far far too often for this to be accident.
THe ACLU will probably sue Staples as a result of this.....
nah, H&K hates civillians...
Since this is a Blue VS Red gang situation, these aren’t kids eligible for amnesty, these are kids eligible for Midnight Basketball.
Either way, if they applied for a job, they would get preference over those of the white oppressor class.
Insufficient. Issue hunting licenses!
Black gang members are individualistic in their dress. Black gangs tend to identify themselves by adopting certain colors. The "Crips" identify themselves with the colors of blue or black or a combination of the two. "Blood" gangs generally use red accessories, such as caps or bandanas, to identify themselves.
While clothing alone cannot positively determine membership in a street gang, color and style serve to identify each gang. Green can either mean the gang member is declaring neutrality for the moment or is a drug dealer. Black is worn by some Hispanic gangs and Heavy Metal Anglo gangs. Other common gang colors include brown or purple.
Note: Some gangs are starting to change their clothing style by no longer wearing their colors in an effort to deceive law enforcement and conceal their gang affiliation.
Gang clothing styles can be easily detected because of the specific way gang members wear their clothing. Examples are preferences for wearing baggy or "sagging" pants or having baseball caps turned at an angle. Gang members often prefer particular brands of shoes, pants or shirts. For example, some gangs like to wear plaid shirts in either blue, brown, black or red. These shirts are worn loosely and untucked. Gang graffiti, symbols, messages or gang names can be written or embroidered on jackets, pants and baseball caps. Other identifying items include belt buckles with the gangs initials, key chains, starter jackets (team jackets), and red or blue bandannas commonly called "rags".
Excessive amounts of dark clothing or a predominance of one-color outfits, white t-shirts and levis with upturned cuffs are also indicators of possible gang involvement.
http://www.lapdonline.org/get_informed/content_basic_view/23468
It makes little difference what you wear. Someone will come at you for any reason.
I hadn’t thought of it that way, but it makes sense. Recently a kid was shot and killed in one of the neighborhoods here, and one of the people they interviewed said it was nothing to have a frequent hail of bullets up and down the street, fired by drug dealers to keep the locals off their turf.
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