Gang violence kills more people than natural disasters in Los Angeles, a senior official said Monday.
Lee Baca, Chief of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, said the high number of deaths from gang activity has reached a crisis point.
"Over the last decade, in Los Angeles County, we've lost more than 5,800 people to gang violence in comparison to less than 500 people to natural disasters," Lee Baca said at the second annual International Chiefs of Police Summit on Transnational Gangs which opened here earlier in the day.
"We in law enforcement are committed locally and internationally to suppressing violence in all its forms," he said.
Police chiefs from Europe as well as Latin America - including El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico and Nicaragua -- were attending the three-day meeting aimed at tackling the problem of international gangs.
The event is sponsored by the FBI and several other federal anti-gang agencies as well as the Los Angeles Police Department and the Sheriff's Department.
Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa cut short a campaign trip to Texas on behalf of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to attend the meeting.
"We are extremely pleased to again participate in this summit on Transnational Gangs," said Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton.
"This summit provides an opportunity for law enforcement officials to come together to exchange information and share strategies on addressing the gang violence in the communities," Bratton said.
Source: Xinhua
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