This past weekend saw more violent chaos on the streets of L.A.: a massive brawl in West Hollywood and Santa Monica Boulevard on Saturday night and Sunday morning; and, that same night, a “street takeover” in Rosemead resulted in four people shot. And about 24 hours later, another street takeover at Compton and Gage Avenues in the Florence-Firestone area of South-Central LA resulted in another shooting. And law enforcement is warning that it will just get worse over the summer:
Los Angeles cops swarmed more than 90 street takeovers already far in 2026, making at least 79 arrests, impounding 114 race cars, grabbing four stolen vehicles and seizing four firearms. At least five people were shot at LA county street takeovers this past weekend alone.
Cops say the illegal gatherings are getting more and more bloody — and with warmer weather coming, things will only get worse.
“There’s robberies, rapes, shootings, murders, stabbings,” said Sgt. Jesse Garcia, leader of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Street Racing Task Force.
“It’s only increased and gotten more violent, more boisterous and just more brazen,” he added.
[snip]
Many takeover participants are members of street gangs, while others belong to car clubs that have ventured into criminal enterprise, explained Garcia.
“It’s a lot of car theft rings, narcotics, human trafficking and gun running,” Garcia said. “Some of the clubs have a hierarchy identical to motorcycle gangs, with dues paying members different chapters in different states.”
Sounds like something out of the 1979 film Mad Max.
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