POLICE TRY TO HALT VIOLENCE BETWEEN FEUDING GANGS

HALIFAX -- Police are trying to control what they say is a bloody
rivalry in Halifax between drug gangs that has seen shots ring out in
front of a children's hospital and another hospital's emergency
department forced into lockdown twice in two weeks. The police
department says it has devoted unprecedented resources into
investigating the series of incidents, which also involves shots fired
at a pizza parlour in nearby Spryfield.

"We have seen violence in the drug trade before," Constable Jeff Carr
said. "The difference this time is that they've brought their dispute
into very public places, which is alarming."

Police haven't said how many officers they have dedicated to a team
trying to clamp down on two groups that have been waging a turf war in
the suburban community of Spryfield for more than three years.

It has been reported by local media outlets that the feud involves two
families and associates implicated in a number of firebombings and
shootings that have plagued the community of about 11,000 people since
2006.

Halifax Regional Police Chief Frank Beazley held a news conference on
Nov. 19 to discuss the trouble and his department's response to it.
Without naming the groups or individuals involved, he said the release
of one man - Jimmy Melvin Jr., 26 - triggered the recent spate of
violence that started with multiple shots fired outside the pizza shop
in Spryfield and then outside the IWK Health Centre. "That gentleman
certainly has an influence on a group of people that are actively
involved in criminal activity in our city," he said in reference to
Melvin after his release from prison.

Melvin Jr. was released Nov. 14 after spending time in prison while
awaiting charges on robbery, assault and weapons offences. He was
freed after witnesses changed their stories about a home invasion in
2007.

Outside court, the Crown said it had to withdraw the charges because
there was no chance of a conviction. Days later, his father, who
served more than 10 years in prison on drug trafficking and assault
convictions, was the target of multiple gunshots that tore through the
pizza outlet on a busy street in the area.

No one was hurt, but police say the incident signalled a renewal of
hostilities between the groups vying for territory in the drug trade.

The following day, another man was injured when multiple shots were
fired in front of the IWK Health Centre, stunning people who had never
seen the violence seep into such public places.

"It gives it a visibility that is quite singular," said Donald
Clairmont, director of the Atlantic Institute of Criminology at
Dalhousie University in Halifax.

"And some of these people can't shoot straight, so when they try to
shoot the other guy they often imperil peaceful citizens. That makes
it a very serious problem."

Melvin was shot Thursday outside an apartment building in the area,
but was taken to hospital with what were said to be non
life-threatening injuries.

Police were reportedly doing surveillance on Melvin at the time, but
didn't witness the shooting. They later arrested four people at two
locations after setting up a roadblock.

On Friday night, police said three of the four men they had taken into
custody as persons of interest in their investigation had been
released without charges being laid. The fourth man has had his parole
revoked.

Hospital officials confirmed that Melvin was being treated there and
that they had restricted access to the emergency department to ensure
patient and physician safety.

Coun. Stephen Adams, who represents the area, said people in the
community are feeling a greater sense of unease as they watch the
violence play out on their streets.

He remembers the string of firebombings in 2006 that were reportedly
sparked by the shooting death of a 21-year-old who was an alleged
member of one of the rival gangs.

"It is spilling into areas that were generally taboo," Adams said
Friday, adding that there has been a heavy, noticeable police presence
in the community since the shooting outside the children's hospital.

"People see it as an internal issue, but of course it's got to be in
the back of their minds that this is happening."

Carr said police are monitoring people thought to be affiliated with
the groups and are investigating the most recent incident to try to
bring them before the courts. But he concedes they've had trouble in
the past coaxing people to come forward and talk.

Still, Clairmont described the groups as middle to low-level drug
gangs that don't maintain the same discreet profile of larger,
well-organized criminal outfits.

"None of these guys are terribly successful. Police routinely bring
them in and convict them on drug offences," he said, comparing them to
the bumbling characters on a popular TV show.

"They're the more menacing version of the Trailer Park Boys."