The ongoing state and Trump administration crackdown against MS-13 in one of their most infamous strongholds has taken such a toll on the gang that they’ve only been linked to a single murder in the area during 2018.
Police in Long Island – a part of New York that has been a hotbed for violent crime at the hands of MS-13 – told Newsday that four homicides recorded there in 2018 appeared to be linked to the gang, down from 14 the year prior. Yet only one of those murders is said to have occurred this year. The other three cases were killings believed to have happened in 2015 and 2017, but they were counted in 2018 totals since the bodies were found within the past 12 months.
“Suffolk County has waged war against MS-13 and our comprehensive strategy to eradicate this violent gang from Long Island is working,” the Suffolk County Police Department told Fox News in a statement Monday. “This dramatic reduction is a result of great policing, expanded community outreach and leveraging governmental partnerships to bring in additional resources to combat gang violence.”
Six of the 14 homicides on Long Island last year connected to MS-13 happened in Suffolk County, according to Newsday.
The one murder MS-13 is suspected to have committed on Long Island this year happened just days ago, on Dec. 18 in Nassau County. The body of Harold Sermeno, a 17-year-old, was found in a picnic area behind a community center near Lawrence, a village that borders New York City. Investigators say Sermeno was shot multiple times. – READ MORE