Gang violence in L.A. turned into viral content

‘were wounded, with city officials saying victims were between the ages of 19 and 45.

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SKIPP TOWNSEND, a gang interventionist, lamented “clout chasers” who exploit other people’s trauma to try to gain larger audiences.

(JONATHAN ALCORN For The Times)

The shooting brought out the city’s mayor and police chief, who, while standing before abank of TV cameras, condemned the senseless taking oflife.

But the specifics of who was responsible for the shooting and why it happened were left unsaid, with authorities remaining tight-lipped in the weeks since.

In the absence of official information, the bustling corner of the internet devoted to L.A. gangs has offered up theories.

Many said the shooting was the latest flareup ina long, bloody struggle between different sets of the Hoover and Main Street Crips.

Hood War Stories reported that the Main Street Crips were “seemingly taking credit for” the violence, which followed a provocative broadcast live on social media.

According to the podcast, several Main Street members had filmed themselves on social media walking through their rivals’ territory, a common tactic among younger gang members trying to demonstrate their fearlessness and goad rivals into a confrontation.

When clips from the livestreams surfaced on Hood War Stories and elsewhere, word quickly spread on the street that the decades-old conflict was heating back up.

The strip mall shooting on Aug. 26 marked the beginning ofa tit-for-tat string of shootings.

Hours later that same night in the 600 block of 80th Street — another block claimed by a Hoovers set — three people were struck, one fatally, by a hail of gunfire.

Television news picked up on the story as well, running an interview that reverberated on social media. A relative of awoman who was killed said she had left behind eight children and 10 grandchildren.