Seven alleged members of the Bloods gang -- some suspected of a 2006 crossfire slaying of an 18-year-old woman -- were charged Wednesday morning by federal authorities and New York police.
Federal murder conspiracy charges are expected to be leveled against the Bronx-based suspects, arrested by agents from Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the NYPD.
Several of the reputed gangsters -- who called themselves the "Gangster Killer Bloods" -- are believed linked to the May 2006 fatal shooting of high school senior Samantha Guzman as she stood with others on a Bronx street corner, law enforcement officials said. Guzman, a student at Ralph McKee High School on Staten Island, had plans to enroll in college or join the Navy, her family said at the time.
Authorities said they believe the bullets that killed her were meant for a young man standing nearby at the intersection of Washington Avenue and 168th Street in Claremont Village shortly after 1 a.m.
The suspects charged Wednesday are for now expected to face separate murder- and drug-related charges. The investigation into Guzman's death continues.
