ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. -- Detectives in St. Lucie County have dealt a major blow to two violent gangs in Fort Pierce.
Thursday, Sheriff Ken Mascara announced the results of a 6-month operation, primarily targeting members of the 10th Street gang and 23rd Street gang.
63 people have been arrested and more than 50 guns were seized.
Investigators said the arrests included 30 known gang members affiliated with the two gangs.
These two gangs are highly violent. They are connected to drug sales and trafficking, numerous car and ATV thefts, home invasions and numerous shootings throughout our county, the sheriff Said
The sheriff said the arrests were the result of several agencies working together. They included the U.S. Attorney's Office, State Attorney, ATF and Fort Pierce Police Department. It was called Operation Strike 3.
Eight of those arrested have been federally indicted.
Now, the weapons that were seized will be examined closely to see if they are tied to any unsolved shootings, specifically between June of 2016 and January of 2017.
A sheriff’s office public information officer said that is the time frame when detectives started stepping up their efforts to dismantle the two gangs.
“With all the shootings last year, we can positively link these two gangs to most of that shooting,” Mascara said.
In 2016, Fort Pierce saw 107 shootings, 40 where people were injured. Seven people were killed.
Louella Anderson, 83, was one of the people who survived being shot last summer.
She was laying on her couch at her home near Avenue G and 23rd Street when a stray bullet pierced through her window and hit her in the head.
“All of a sudden, I hear Boom! I grabbed my head said what is this? Blood just pouring out, I called 911,” said Anderson.
Detectives found the bullet that hit her. She’s hoping they will be able to find the gun it came from, hoping it’s one of the more than fifty that were seized.
“He won’t be shooting nobody else if he got arrested,” she added.
