Dozens Arrested in Biggest NYC Gang Crackdown in Recent History: Officials

Some of the accused gang members used children as young as 10 years old to shuttle weapons

Police arrested 40 suspected gang members in early-morning raids Wednesday, targeting 3 gangs that authorities linked to 50 shootings, 19 injuries and two slayings including the murder of a star high-school basketball player

Of the 40 arrested Wednesday on charges ranging from drugs to crimes of violence, all but one had a prior arrest, authorities said,

Some officials are calling it one of the biggest one day round-ups in city history.

The raids targeted the "Make It Happen Boys," Money Avenue and "3 Staccs," which were engaged in a bloody feud and are linked to the 2011 shooting death of teen basketball star Tayshana Murphy.

Some of the arrests took place across Harlem at the Grant and Manhattanville housing projects near West 125th Street, and more than 400 NYPD officers took part in the operation. 

More than 100 suspected members of gangs and street crews are expected to be charged in all; 39 people were previously arrested in the investigation. The suspects have been linked to as many as 20 shootings and many stabbings, authorities say.

Some of the accused gang members used children as young as 10 years old to shuttle weapons, authorities said.

"In the last four years, [the gang feuds] have escalaed into a bloody turf war marked by violence for the sake of violence," said District Attorney Cy Vance.  

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said residents will now "be walking on safer streets."

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