Editorial: 311 Boyz: Where were the adults?

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2003 | 8:38 a.m.

A 30-minute video of violent fistfighting among teenagers is part of the evidence against nine youths charged in a July attack that left a 17-year-old boy with serious facial injuries. The nine are allegedly members of the 311 Boyz, a gang that has been menacing northwest Las Vegas neighborhoods. The extreme violence portrayed in the video has prompted the district attorney's office to ask that bail for the nine, who are charged with attempted murder and other felonies, be increased from $40,000 to $500,000. The video was viewed by the Sun's court reporter, Erica D. Johnson, whose story Wednesday described the beatings seen on the tape, the revelry of the perpetrators and witnesses, and the anguish of the victims.

The video holds lessons for all of us. It proves that gangs are not solely the product of low-income neighborhoods. The area where the 311 Boyz live is affluent. It proves gangs are not limited to certain racial and ethnic groups -- all nine who are facing charges are white. For schools and parents, the violent actions of this gang and all gangs ought to stimulate a lot of thought and discussion.

Obviously, the 311 Boyz did not form overnight. How were the warning signs missed? Did no one notice their increasingly violent attitudes, evidenced by their choice of symbols -- the Iron Cross? Could a teacher, counselor or principal have intervened before the gang members turned so violent? And where were the parents? Did they not care about the late nights, the changing personalities, the friends, the whole look and feel of the gang culture overtaking their children?

These questions pertain to all gangs and we hope they're asked in schools and homes. Adult intervention can make all the difference in the life of a teenager and the kind of adult he will become.