Crime & Safety

'Credible Threat' Warning Issued That Gangs Might Target Tewksbury Police and Others Across the Country

Baltimore Police, in the wake of uprisings in that city, say gang members might target law enforcement officers with violence.

The Baltimore Police Department has issue a national alert warning law enforcement agencies across the country, including Massachusetts about a credible threat that gang members may be organizing to “take out” police officers.

The threat notification was issued earlier this morning and sent to the NLETS system. Police also requested media outlets share the information with the public.

The alert noted that the department’s Criminal Intelligence Unit had received “credible information that members of various gangs, including the Black Guerrilla Family, Bloods, and Crips, have entered into a partnership to ‘take-out’ law enforcement officers.”

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The alert called the partnership “a credible threat” and advised that officers should take precautions to protect themselves.

Tewksbury Police Chief Timothy Sheehan said on Monday his department is in receipt of the Credible Threat to Law Enforcement press release from Baltimore PD and that they are making sure it is immediately disseminated to all of Tewksbury officers.

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“Today’s climate has already kept law enforcement officers in a state of constant vigilance, but this is certainly pertinent specific information that needs to be shared with all police officers,” he says.

The unrest in Baltimore is due to the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old man who died in police custody on April 19, 2015, after a spinal injury, which prompted anti-police brutality demonstrations and clashes with police.

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