The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrests of six men believed responsible for some of the gun violence on the First Coast.
Sheriff Mike Williams said at a news conference Tuesday that the arrests were the result of “Operation Rap Up,” which involved analyzing locally made music videos and matching the people seen in them with known felons and gang members.
“So these guys are being arrested today for the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The groups that they represent…and themselves…we know through investigations have been involved in shootings and, yes, as recent as 18-months, 2-years—24-months.”
It’s against the law for a convicted felon to be in possession of a gun.
Williams called the videos the “gang graffiti of the new age” and said the gangs who made them used them to threaten other gangs.
Williams, however, declined to name the gangs or the crimes they’re believed associated with.
Those arrested - and the three that were still being sought by police as of Tuesday night - are all between the ages of 17– and 29-years-old.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter @cydwjctnews.
