Thus far this week, members and would-be members of the notorious Bloods street gang in Houston have found better things to do instead of murdering sorority girls.
However, illegal drug sales, hating Crips, sorting laundry and the mundane realities of gang life have not stopped a rumor about the impending murder of a sorority member from spreading like wildfire on the University of Houston campus Sunday, reports the Houston Chronicle.
“They are planning on ‘killing a sorority girl’ tonight,” a breathless May 10 communique entitled “BE SAFE” explained.
The Bloods sorority murder would be “their initiation.”
Another message instructed sorority sisters “to not wear” Greek letters “or have any letters on our cars.”
University of Houston officials say the gangland sorority murder gossip appears to be baseless.
“No credible evidence has been found that would link gang activity or a gang threat to these rumors involving students,” school spokesman Richard Bonnin told the Chronicle.
At the same time, in order to make sorority members and other students feel safe, the police force at the taxpayer-funded University of Houston has commenced an investigation and beefed up its public presence in the form of patrol cars and officers on foot.
“The University Of Houston Department Of Public Safety continues to investigate rumors of an alleged gang threat against UH sororities, which first surfaced Sunday night,” a school press release explained.
School staffers also met with sorority leaders to suggest a number of security measures including traveling in groups or just hiding out indoors until the gang threat rumor has passed.
Students are taking the rumor seriously.
“It’s definitely nerve racking,” student Fabienne Saie told local CBS affiliate KHOU. “This is supposed to be a college campus. You’re supposed to feel safe.”
Other students noted two recent shootings at the Vue apartment complex, a popular housing option for students. It’s not clear if the shootings were gang-related.
The Bloods gang was initially formed in the Los Angeles area in the 1970s as a response to the gang’s sworn enemy, the Crips.
Members associate strongly with the color red. Other Bloods symbols include a five-point star and the number five represented in various ways.
The Bloods gang hand sign is a very complicated contortion that sort of spells out the word “Bloods” if you look at it right.
Most new members join the Bloods for the reasons anyone joins a gang — protection, a sense of belonging, perceived status, etc. Membership in the gang is typically a lifetime commitment.
The actual Bloods initiation process varies across the country. A common method is the “beat-in” or “jump-in,” which involves new recruits getting “punched, kicked, and beaten” by several existing members for a short period of time, according to an explanatory document from the Virginia State Police.
Luckier new members can get “blessed in” by Blood executives.
Also, “new members may have to commit crimes including assault and robbery to prove their loyalty and worth to the gang.”
Most of the economic activity of the Bloods and other American street gangs involves drugs and dealing in stolen goods (especially guns).
At this year’s University of Houston commencement, actor Matthew McConaughey will speak in exchange for $135,000. (RELATED: Taxpayer-Funded University Pays Wooderson $135,000 To Give A Commencement Speech )
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