<div dir="ltr">Dear Ms. DePrato Miller,<div><br></div><div>The town is painfully aware of gang issues in both William Wirt and Parkdale; a gang-related stabbing happened in the woods near Parkdale in February of this year, and our police were well aware of it (even though it is outside our boundaries - the police know that criminals don't respect municipal boundaries). The surprise is at the reported level of gang activity - our understanding was that it was much lower than was reported in the article. As I said in my response to Audrey, we are working with the county (both police and PGCPS) to provide information and assistance to better understand the situation, and if possible provide resources to address it.</div><div><br></div><div>Sincerely,</div><div><br></div><div>Alan</div><div><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jun 12, 2018 at 6:09 PM, tazimax <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tazimax@verizon.net" target="_blank">tazimax@verizon.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><span class=""><div><font face="sans-serif">I am very surprised you didn't know about the gang issues in that neighborhood. I grew up there and my mother lived there for 50 years. 10 years ago her neighbor was assaulted by an MS13 member when he was trying to defend his kids. 43 stitches later he has a huge scar. The gangs have been around for years. My 25 year old knew them when he was a child here. I cannot believe that the town was ignorant to this fact. Tags are always being removed from the BW Parkway bridge. It saddens me that it is only recognized as an issue when it makes the national news.</font></div><div><font face="sans-serif">Carol DePrato Miller</font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div id="m_-2813123661455061778composer_signature"><div style="font-size:85%;color:#575757" dir="auto">Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device</div></div><div><br></div><div style="font-size:100%;color:#000000"><div>-------- Original message --------</div><div>From: "Alan K. Thompson" <<a href="mailto:akthompson@riverdaleparkmd.gov" target="_blank">akthompson@riverdaleparkmd.<wbr>gov</a>> </div><div>Date: 6/12/18 2:19 PM (GMT-05:00) </div><div>To: Audrey Bragg <<a href="mailto:abragg7393@aol.com" target="_blank">abragg7393@aol.com</a>> </div><div>Cc: <a href="mailto:towntalk@riverdale-park.org" target="_blank">towntalk@riverdale-park.org</a> </div><div>Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] middle school </div><div><br></div></div></span><div><div class="h5"><div><div dir="auto">Dear Audrey,</div></div><div><br></div><div>This article was a shock to those of us on the Town Council as well, as it does not match our knowledge of conditions/issues at William Wirt. We are aware of it and are working with the county to understand the situation and respond appropriately, within the limits of jurisdiction you mention.</div><div><br></div><div>Alan</div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div>On Tue, Jun 12, 2018 at 12:05 Audrey Bragg <<a href="mailto:abragg7393@aol.com" target="_blank">abragg7393@aol.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><font color="black" size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I was shocked to read about the MS13 gang taking over William Wirt Middle School in the Washington Post this morning. That is the school where the children of Riverdale Park go to school. Is our town doing anything to solve this problem. I know it is county jurisdiction, but our children are our jurisdiction and we should be aware and demand that our children are safe. Is anyone in this town working on this?
<div>Audrey Bragg, Ward 2<br>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><br><div>Alan K. Thompson, Mayor</div><div>Town of Riverdale Park</div><div>5008 Queensbury Road, Riverdale Park, MD 20737</div><div><a href="http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info" target="_blank">http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info</a></div><div><a href="mailto:akthompson@riverdaleparkmd.gov" target="_blank">akthompson@riverdaleparkmd.gov</a></div></div></div>
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