BY COLE SINANIAN
SOUTH JAMAICA — Twenty-two members of the so-called “Blitz Gang 4” have been indicted for a string of bloody shootings that have rocked Southeast Queens since 2023.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, Governor Kathy Hochul, and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced the indictments in a joint statement on June 30. Gang members are allegedly responsible for 11 shootings and one stabbing that left three people wounded, one of which is now paralyzed after sustaining gunshot wounds in the back.
A subset of the Bloods known for their bloody turf wars and ambushing rival gang members in broad daylight, the “Blitz Gang 4” (BG4) was based out of South Jamaica’s Baisley Park Houses earned a reputation among law enforcement for deliberately travelling into territory controlled by enemy gang “Floss Money Ballers” and shooting rival gang members on sight, in a twisted form of target practice known as “spinning” or “drills.”
“The streets of Queens will be safer this summer thanks to the hard work of
prosecutors in my Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau and our NYPD partners,” wrote District Attorney Melinda Katz in a press statement. “As alleged, the wanton violence between members of Blitz Gang 4 and Floss Money Ballers has terrorized Southeast Queens communities for the past two years, putting countless innocent residents at risk.”
In addition to the Floss Money Ballers gang — which was taken down in September of last year with a 33-count indictment — BG4’s rivals include fellow MacBallers gang affiliates like Money World and Bad-Co, as well as a Crips affiliate known as 5th Clocc.
Nine of the defendants were arraigned June 25 before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder and eight were arraigned before Queens Supreme Court Justice Bruna DiBiase. Two others were already in custody and are set to be arraigned at a later date, while three are still at large.
The defendants range in age from 15-23, and hail from neighborhoods throughout Southeast Queens and Long Island, including Rosedale, Jamaica, Far Rockaway, St. Albans, South Richmond Hill, Hollis, and Locust Manor. Some face up to life in prison for charges of attempted murer, criminal conspiracy, assault, and criminal possession of a firearm.
Many of the alleged gang members broadcast their violent intentions via Instagram posts and music videos, according to DA Katz. The violence stretches back to a shooting incident on September 8, 2023, during which three of the defendants chased down and cornered a U-Haul truck full of 5th Clocc members near the Baisley Park Houses, before opening fire on the truck’s occupants.
In a separate incident on the evening of September 10, 2024, four defendants allegedly traveled into enemy territory in a black Chevrolet in Rosedale with the intention of shooting any rivals on sight, before firing multiple rounds at a Floss Money Ballers member walking near 249th Street and Francis Lewis Boulevard.
The joint investigation was conducted by the Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau of the Queens District Attorney’s Office, along with Detectives Jhoan Lozano and Christopher Sanabria of the Gun Violence Suppression Division of the New York City Police Department.
