Credible Threat: Bloods, Crips Among Notorious Gangs Threatening to 'Take Out' Cops

California law enforcement agencies are among those on high alert Monday, after officials got word of a “credible threat” by some of the country’s most notorious gangs, who are allegedly banding together to target officers.

The Baltimore Police Department announced Monday the apparent hits– adding that the threat extended nationwide.

“We are aware of the threat,” said LAPD Officer Rosario Herrera, a spokeswoman for the department, when contacted by Patch.

Officers are on high-alert and have been advised to be aware of their surroundings, said Herrera. However, there have been no attacks or threats in the LA area, she added.

“We are resuming our normal patrol duties,” said Herrera.

Here is the full statement issued Monday by Baltimore PD:

The Baltimore Police Department/Criminal Intelligence Unit has received credible information that members of various gangs including the Black Guerilla Family, Bloods and Crips have entered into a partnership to ’take-out’ law enforcement officers.

This is a “credible threat.” Law enforcement agencies should take appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of their officers. Notification will be sent via NLETS. Further information will be sent through appropriate channels.

Media requested to distributed this information to the public and law enforcement nationwide.

All three gangs named above are known to have members throughout California. In fact, the Black Guerilla Family was founded in the 1960s in San Quentin State Prison, near San Francisco.

Patch contacted other California law enforcement agencies, but not all were immediately aware of any local threats.

“I am unaware of any threats to our agency at this time,” Alameda County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Ray Kelly told Patch. “Threats such as these will not intimidate us from doing our job.”

Over the weekend, the Nation of Islam facilitated a truce between rival gangs the Bloods and the Crips, who united in the rally against police brutality, according to The Daily Beast.

The protests in Baltimore on Saturday had started peaceful—and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said 95 percent of them were in that spirit—but by Sunday morning, 34 people had been arrested and six police officers injured. Storefronts and police vehicles were also damaged. Images captured on social media of the violence included video of a man smashing a patrol car window with a trash can and angry protesters yelling directly in the face of officers.

Both peaceful protests and the acts of violence follow other high-profile cases of police-involved deaths in the past two years.

In 2014, Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. The officer involved was not charged because he argued he was defending himself from the unarmed Brown. Also in 2014, an unarmed Eric Garner died after a police officer put the large man in a choke hold during an arrest for allegedly selling illegal cigarettes.

Earlier this month, a North Charleston, S.C., police officer fatally shot Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who was running away. The officer had claimed self defense until a video surfaced showing the officer shooting Brown multiple times in the back as the victim tried to run away. The officer in that case, Michael Slager, has been charged with murder.

– Patch Editors Elizabeth Janney, Autumn Johnson, Paige Austin and Renee Schiavone contributed to this report.

Previous protest coverage on California Patch:

• CA Attorney General Harris Announces New Training for Law Enforcement
• Oakland Police Made More Ferguson Protest Arrests Than Any Other City in U.S.
• ‘Blackout Black Friday’ Protesters Arrested After Chaining Themselves, Blocking BART Trains
• UPDATED: Protesters Blocking Traffic on I-5 in La Jolla Walk Off
• Oakland Police Call in Additional Help for Third Night of Protests
• Police Arrest, Cite Protestors Who Blocked Part of I-580, Vandalized Property Tuesday
• Oakland Police Chief Says Officers Performed ‘Well’ During Ferguson Verdict Protests