Pirus
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the street gang. For other uses, see PiruPiruA piru is a minor evil spirit or demon in Finnish mythology. In folklore, a piru is often featured as a nasty spirit of the forest with which a wise-aleck either wins or loses a battle of wits, giving or receiving a forfeit in return. In many cases, poltergeist and haunting phenomenons are...
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The Pirus or Piru Street Boys are a Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
area street gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
alliance (under the larger alliance, Bloods
Bloods
The Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs...
) based out of Compton
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...
which spread to Carson
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
, Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
, and Watts
Watts, Los Angeles, California
Watts is a mostly residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.-History:The area now known as Watts is located on the Rancho La Tajauta Mexican land grant...
. Piru sets make up most of the original blood gang alliance in Los Angeles.
The name "Piru" is derived from Piru Street in the city of Compton. The gang was originally founded around 1969 and known as the Piru Street Boys. By the 1970s, with a growing threat from the much larger Crips
Crips
The Crips are a primarily, but not exclusively, African American gang. They were founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams...
gang, the Pirus led a meeting with several other smaller gangs. This meeting eventually led to an alliance that formed the Bloods
Bloods
The Bloods are a street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. They are identified by the red color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs...
.
There are 14 Piru sets in Compton, 2 in Inglewood, 5 in Carson, 1 in Los Angeles, 1 in Watts, 1 in Pacoima (San Fernando Valley), 1 in Willowbrook, 2 in San Diego, 5 in New York, 1 in North Carolina, 1 in Kansas and 1 in Albuquerque, NM. There is also many more in other states that are either unknown or fake sets
Set
A set is a collection of well defined and distinct objects, considered as an object in its own right. Sets are one of the most fundamental concepts in mathematics. Developed at the end of the 19th century, set theory is now a ubiquitous part of mathematics, and can be used as a foundation from...
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Original formation of the Bloods
In 1969 fifteen-year-old Raymond WashingtonRaymond Washington
Raymond Lee Washington was the original founder of the South Central Los Angeles street gang the Crips....
started the Crips (originally called the Baby Cribs) street gang with ten friends from his neighborhood on the East Side of South Central Los Angeles. Washington's strategy for increasing the size of his gang was to recruit members of other gangs into the Crips. To this end Washington challenged the leaders of other street gangs to one-on-one street fights. Because Washington was an extremely tough and experienced street fighter he won the majority of these fights after which the beaten gang leaders and their members joined the Crips.
Other gangs, however, merged with the Crips willingly. One such gang was the Piru Street Boys in Compton, California
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...
. Washington approached the Piru Street Boys in 1971 and the gang changed their name to the Piru Street Crips. The Pirus, however, were arch enemies of the gang that would become the Compton Crips, led by a teenager named Mac Thomas. According to Crips co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams, Mac Thomas and the Compton Crips were unhappy about Raymond Washington recruiting their arch rivals. According to Tookie Williams, Mac Thomas had even complained about Raymond Washington showing the Pirus the Compton Crips' turf including their personal hangouts. At one time the Pirus were a part of the Crips before they broke off from the Crips and became some of the first gangs within the Bloods. Recently large numbers of Pirus sets are becoming disenfranchised with the Bloods and are steadily becoming their own gang. This is further noted with some Pirus fighting other Blood sets and even those who are Pirus such as Fruit Town Pirus are enemies towards Tree Top Pirus and Mob Pirus, both loyal to the Bloods alliance rather than becoming their own gang.
Known Pirus sets
Elm Street PiruIn 1984 an OG from Lueders Park Piru named OG Bartender who lived on Elm Street started the Elm Street Pirus after he grew tired of traveling all the way to Leuders Park for functions.[Note: Bartender once lived on Maple Street, one block from Elm but he was not known as Bartender at the time. Bartender died in 1986.)
Elm Street Pirus also goes by the names Elm Lane Mafia and Elm Street Mob. As with most other Blood sets under the Piru card, Elm Street Pirus wear burgundy, red, Crimson, Maroon, black and brown to symbolize the bark of an Elm tree. Elm Street Pirus claim “East Side” and "south side" depending on what section of the gang. to show that they are a Piru set from the east side of Compton. They are known to use the term “356%” to show their affiliation because 356 is the number you get if you dial “Elm” on a phone. The Elm Street Pirus are broken down into the following 5 hoods: 700 Block Burris Ave, 700 Block Poinsettia Ave, 1000 Block Mayo Ave, 1000 Block Sloan Ave, and 1000 Block Kemp Ave. Their territory lies adjacent to the Lueders Park Piru, who they consider allies along with the Miller Gangster bloods, They are very close to the Latin kings
Latin kings
Latin kings or Latin Kings may refer to:*Latin Kings , a street gang*Latin kings of Alba Longa, series of legendary kings of Alba Longa, in Latium*The Latin Kings, a Swedish hip hop group*The Original Latin Kings of Comedy...
, Cedar Block Piru and the Fruit Town Pirus. Their enemies include Arch enemies Compton Varrio Tortilla Flats. Also the Santana Blocc Compton Crips, Kelly Park Compton Crips, South Side Compton Crips, Compton Varrio 70's and ALL Compton crips are considered enemies since 1984 and 18th street.
Elm street piru is known to have more female members than any other piru set.
As the Black P Stone Bloods do in Baldwin village, Elm Street Piru have many Black Islamic members.
They are rumored to have as many as 400 members.
Fruit Town Piru
Fruit Town was known because of the names of the streets — Cherry, Plum, Peach, Pear, Mulberry, Tamarind, & the street that started the Piru Bloods Piru st. It was one of the roughest neighborhoods in Compton, home of the Fruit Town Piru gang, one of the original gangs in the confederation known as the Bloods and a faction of the Piru Nation. The original Fruit Town Pirus founded the Fruit Town Brims in 1974. It is known as one of the most active Piru gangs in Compton, the East Side (E/S) FTP 's territory used to stretch from East to West but now only resides on the Westside, yet they claim East Side (E/S) for historical reasons. Their cliques are situated on the 300, 400, 500, 2000 and 2100 Block within their territory. The Fruit Town Brims, Cedar Block Piru and East Side Pirus are considered allies. Fruit Town is widley known for their gang rivalry with the Compton Tortilla Flats. Fruit Town is located in Compton but has leaked into New York (Brooklyn,Bronx,Queens and Mount Vernon in Westchester County), they have also leaked into parts of New Jersey and Conneticut.
MOB Piru
The MOB Piru has been around for several decades and boasts about 200 members. Their territory stretches from Bullis Road in the West to Atlantic Avenue in the East with the 105 Freeway as their Northern boarder and Rosecrans Avenue as their Southern boarder. This gang also controls much of the area along Long Beach Blvd. in Lynwood, north of Compton. The Mob Piru began gaining notoriety in the 1990s with alleged connections to rap music impresario Suge Knight and Death Row Records, who funneled large amounts of money to the neighborhood by employing known gang members from the Mob Piru to his company, along with members of the Lueders Park Piru. The Mob Piru are one of the more violent gangs and are alligned with the Lueders Park Piru (although flare ups between the two occur from time to time), Holly Hood Pirus and Elm Street Pirus. Their subsets are situated on the 1800 2000 2100 blocks within their territory Their enemies include the Santana Blocc Compton Crips, South Side Compton Crips, Neighborhood Compton Crips,Lueders Park Piru, Fruit Town Pirus, Tree Top Pirus,Long Beach's Insane Crips gang, the E/S Lynwood Neighbor Hood Crips, Palm & Oak Gangster Crips, Ward Lane Compton Crips, Duccy Hood Compton Crips, Compton Varrio 70, Compton Varrio Limas Street and the Compton Varrio 3 gang. M.O.B is an acronym for Money Over Bitches or Members Of the Bloods.
Luedars Park Piru
The Lueders Park Piru gang were once known as the Lueders Park Hustlers and were one of the original sets to help form the Bloods alliance. They are the largest Eastside Piru gang whose territory stretches from Bullis road to the West to Atlantic Avenue in the East between Compton Blvd in the South and Rosecrans Avenue in the North. Members of this gang was employed by Death Row CEO Suge Knight, mostly as security during the 90's. The Lueders Park Piru's closes allies are the Mob Piru gang, although conflict with them have flare up from time to time as well. The Kelly Park Compton Crips and Santana Blocc Compton Crips have been considered enemies of the Lueders Park Piru since the late 70's and early 80's, but more recently, they have been locked in conflict with the Compton Varrio 70's since 2001 along with the Neighborhood Compton Crips. The E/S LPP are considered enemies of all Compton Crips, but in particular the Kelly Park Compton Crips, Ward Lane Compton Crips, South Side Compton Crips. They are also beefing with ally Mob Piru.
Tree Top Piru
The W/S Tree Top Pirus, also known as West Side Trees and TTP, is a West Side Piru gang located in the area of Los Angeles, California known as the City of Compton. Members of the TTP are known to sport the colors Burgundy and Olive Green. This gang is nestled into a small community on the Northside of Compton in an area just south of Rosecrans. Their territory is bordered by several other gangs. On the North side of the Trees are the Fruit Town Pirus, to the South are the Palmer Blocc Compton Crips. The west side of the Tree Top gang territory extends to the Cedar Block Piru gang's eastern territory border. On the East Side of the Tree Top Pirus territory are the Santana Blocc Compton Crips. The Tree Top Pirus gang has control over the area from Rosecrans Ave. to the North. Compton Blvd on the South. They are enemies of Original Swamps Compton Crips, Palmer Blocc Compton Crips, Santana Blocc Compton Crips, Mona Park Compton Crips, Kelly Park Compton Crips, Fruit Town Pirus, 145 Neighborhood Pirus, Bounty Hunter Bloods, Grape Street Watts Crips, Compton Varrio 155, Compton Varrio 70's, and the Compton Varrio Tortilla Flats. There most fierce rivalry is with the Compton Varrio Tortilla Flats that has lasted over 20 years due to the long going race wars in South Central Los Angeles. There allies include the Cedar Block Piru, West Side Piru, Elm Street Pirus, and Campenella Park Pirus. Sets include the 200/300/400/500 Blocks of W. Spruce Street, and the 800/900 Blocks of N. Hickory Ave.
Ranks and classes
- L.Y.G. (Little Young Gangster) - members aged under 17. varries as to the youngest a gang will recruit. For some it is as young as 7 or 8 and others it is around 12 or 13.
- Y.G. (Young Gangster) - after 0-4 active years of "banging" after the age of 18
- O.Y.G. (Original Young Gangster) - after 5 active years of banging after the age of 18
- O.G. (Original Gangster) - after 10 active years of banging nomatter what age(Many people mistake O.G. as an older member, but someone can jump straight from L.Y.G. and become an O.G. at the age of 18 if they have been in the gang since they were 8.
- O.O.G. (Double O.G.) - after 20 active years of banging
- O.O.O.G. (Triple O.G.) - after 30 active years of banging
See also
- List of California street gangs
- Crime in Los Angeles
- Hood 2 Hood: Blockumentary