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London’s east end touched by Hells Angels

According to the London Police Service, a male victim of a shooting yesterday morning was a member of the Hells Angels and had ongoing issues with local street gangs. The shooting took place at 12:03 a.m. near Grey Street—the male and his female associate were both injured. Three suspects were arrested and police are looking for a fourth.

This shooting comes after a string of arsons that are suspected to have been carried out by local biker gangs. Police have received assistance from the Biker Enforcement Unit with the case.

“We have no information that would connect the issues that we are investigating to a dispute or feud between the Hells Angels motorcycle club and the Outlaws motorcycle club,” Brad Duncan, chief of police for the London Police Service, explained in a press conference.

Michael Arntfield, a professor in the faculty of information and media studies, explained these events would have no precedent and are unlike any other biker-related incident.

“The make-up of organized crime in Ontario is unique from other provinces,” he explained.

James Dubro, a crime writer who has written several works on biker gangs, was surprised at how quickly the violence escalated. “They don’t usually start shooting each other as a first reaction.”

He explained gangs would sometimes resort to violence to eliminate rivals.

“Violence begets violence, especially in the underworld,” he said.

Duncan noted while he could not confirm if the current suspects were from out of town, in the past, partnerships between gangs in Toronto and London were not uncommon.

Dubro explained the fact that the Angels have the ability to call in more members is part of what makes them so dangerous.

“The Hells Angels are one of the most formidable organizations in North America,” he said. He noted, however, that in Canada it is illegal to be a member of the organization.

Dubro also explained it would be “suicide” for a local gang, biker or otherwise, to go against them because of their large numbers.

Duncan said even though they were investigating street level gangs instead of biker gangs, they were still a serious threat.

“They come together for a criminal purpose, they are organized,” Duncan explained. “They can be every bit as dangerous as the traditional motorcycle gangs.” He noted these gangs dealt with drugs and were using handguns as well.

Both Arntfield and Dubro agreed the gangs would be just as against the high profile violence as the community.

“Turf wars are bad for business. They try to operate discreetly,” Arntfield said.

Dubro noted senior members of the gangs might even have a sit-down with each other to try to resolve the issues.

“We will not tolerate this open display of violence and we will work diligently to prevent further acts of violence,” Duncan explained.

Dubro noted innocent people typically were only harmed when gang violence was terribly out of control. He also felt this would be resolved quickly.

“We’re not at war,” Dubro explained in regards to the relationship between the gangs. “We’re [in] a battle.”

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