Gang-related violent crimes — including homicides — in Denver over the past two months have increased sharply over the same period last year, city police crime statistics show.
And police say those involved are getting younger and younger.
Gang-linked murders are up, while the number of aggravated assaults tied to gangs has nearly doubled. The latest statistics cover only this year through Feb. 21.
The information was released Friday in response to a Denver Post request.
Police and activists say there has been a flare-up in gang-related violence in the city over the past few weeks stemming from new “beefs” and a cyclical trend of retaliation. The clashes, many of which activists say have resulted in shootings, have spawned fear in neighborhoods such as Park Hill.
Since the beginning of the year, police have tied 47 aggravated assaults and three slayings to gang relation or motivation.
In January and February of last year, there were no such killings and 25 aggravated assaults similarly linked.
The statistics also show six gang-related killings in the four months since November — more than in the previous 10 months combined, when there were five.
“There’s no doubt we have seen a spike in that activity over the past several weeks,” Cmdr. Mark Fleecs, who oversees the division that includes the gang bureau, told The Post earlier this week.
Fleecs said investigators have noticed that younger gang members — some of them children — appear to be to blame.
“There has been a bit of a trend lately with the younger kids being involved in the violent activity,” he said.
Police define gang-related or gang-motivated crimes as involving either a suspect or victim who is a known or suspected gang member.
A crime that “enhances” the status or function of the gang as a whole can also be counted, police say.
The Rev. Leon Kelly, who runs Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives in Denver, says most of the issues have been caused by friction between the Bloods and Crips gangs.
Though police attributed three killings last November and December to gangs, they would not specifically identify them from a list of city homicides.
Earlier this month, Marlow Martin, 27, who was arrested in 2010 during a federal roundup of suspected Crips members, was gunned down near the intersection of 11th Avenue and Broadway.
Investigators say a fight between Martin and two men precipitated the shooting, which left a woman with a graze wound.
Police have not publicly named any suspects in the Feb. 15 shooting and are asking for the public’s help in their investigation.
Martin’s death was not included in the statistics given to The Post.
Police say they have seen similar spikes in gang-linked violent crimes in Denver over the past three or four years, and said they aren’t unusual.
Fleecs said authorities are doing what they can to stop the violence through targeted enforcement and outreach.
“When these flare-ups do happen, they get our full attention,” he said.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
