Law enforcement in Brooklyn is astounded by the discovery that some African-American and Hispanic gangs in East New York require new members to rob Chinese deliverymen before they can be officially inducted.

The horrible detail of the case was recently revealed in a Brooklyn court; even the judge, who presided the case, was shocked. For many members of the Chinese community, they are worried that more Chinese will become victims.

A lawyer, who was a former City Council candidate, told a reporter that the criminal court is worried that the recurring robbery of Chinese deliverymen is related to the gang initiation requirement.

According to a source who was in the court during the arraignment, a Hispanic defendant, who pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, was asked by the judge his reason for committing the crime. The defendant told the judge that he did it to be inducted into a popular Latino gang.

The juvenile defendant also told the judge that gangs often change the rules for initiation; whoever wants to become a member must fulfill the obligation at the time.

Some of the rules, according to the defendant, include robbing or provoking a student or a pedestrian. After accomplishing the task, the new member will be inducted in an official ceremony. After joining the gang, members enjoy protection by the gang and share any gains they get.

Some mainstream media reports said that Latino and African-American gangs are very active in most of the big cities in the United States.

The Brooklyn police, while conceding to the seriousness of street gangs, did not confirm the initiation rule, adding that the conflict between Latino and African-American gangs are not as serious as those in Los Angeles.

Lisa Ling, a well-known Chinese-American journalist, recently did an investigative story on Latino gangs in the United States for the National Geographic Channel. Ling received threats from a Hispanic gang called “MS-13.” In her report, Ling alleged that the gang has over 100,000 members in 33 states, including New York.

One detective pointed out that gang activity is a major issue in East New York and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Police records also show an increase in robberies of Chinese deliverymen, but it is unknown whether the robberies are related to gang activity.

The police have long suspected that street gangs infiltrated schools. Several years ago, when Chinese students became the target of school bullying at Lafayette High School, an African-American student told a reporter that he belonged to a gang called “Blood Clip.”

The student said that most of the gang members were African Americans, and mostly targeted Asian students because they are smaller in stature. But sometimes, the student added, Hispanic and Russian students were also bullied.

According to the lawyer representing the Asian students, who spoke to the press, the problem is very serious. The presiding judge asked the police to put in place preventive measures to ensure that there are no future victims.