Crime

Rapper’s death is part of recent spike in shootings

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — The death of rapper Nipsey Hussle came during a week that saw a spike in shootings that prompted three City Council members to introduce a motion at the April 2 City Council meeting asking the police department and the Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development to report on the recent surge and the department’s strategy on responding to the increase.

Published

8 years ago

April 5, 2019

Oakland Post

LOS ANGELES —The death of rapper Nipsey Hussle came during a week that saw a spike in shootings that prompted three City Council members to introduce a motion at the April 2 City Council meeting asking the police department and the Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development to report on the recent surge and the department’s strategy on responding to the increase.

Hussle was shot in the head and upper body March 31 outside a clothing store he owns in the 3400 block of West Slauson Avenue in the Hyde Park area. Two other men also were injured in the shooting.

Although homicides are down in the city over the first three months of the year compared to 2018, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said Hustle’s death came during a week where 26 people were shot in the city and 10 were killed.

At a news conference at LAPD headquarters April 2, Moore said the surge in violence began several weeks ago and was particularly impacting African-American men.

“Nipsey Hussle represents the enormity of the lives that we have lost,” said Moore, who had been scheduled to meet with Hussle and others on April 1 to discuss ways to reduce gang violence.

Moore recalled getting a message March 31 that three people had been shot in South Los Angeles, and then realizing Hussle was among the victims.

“And then I saw the name Nipsey Hussle, and I looked at that again, and I looked at it again, and it was like, I could not believe it,” Moore said. “It just drove the added violence even that much more severe. So I am devastated with that because this is a voice that was trying to help and was investing in his community.”

Crime dropped in Los Angeles in every major category in the city in 2018, according to the LAPD. Homicides were down 8.2 percent, violent crime was down 4.5 percent and property crime was down 1.8 percent. Homicides totaled 259, down from 282 in 2017.

“There has been a disturbing uptick in gang-related shootings in South L.A. and the Harbor Area. It is imperative that the city look into what can be done to address this surge, especially before the summer begins, which is traditionally the time of year that experiences the highest incidence of shootings and gang-related activity,” the City Council motion says.

The motion was introduced by Joe Buscaino, who represents the Harbor Area, Monica Rodriguez, chair of the Public Safety Committee, and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who represents parts of South Los Angeles, including Hyde Park.

This article originally appeared in the Wave Newspapers.

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AG Bonta Announces Action on Cryptocurrency, Sextortion Fraud – Increasingly Targeting Gen-Z

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is warning residents about a surge in cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion schemes that increasingly target Gen Z through social media platforms. With internet-based scams costing Americans nearly $21 billion in 2023, Bonta highlighted how artificial intelligence and deepfakes allow criminals to impersonate loved ones and promote fraudulent investment groups. The Attorney General’s Office has already shut down over 100 fraudulent websites and is now utilizing new legislative tools to recover assets for victims. Read more.

Published

1 week ago

November 3, 2026

Post News Group

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned residents about rising cryptocurrency fraud and online sextortion scams, urging Californians to recognize warning signs and protect themselves as scammers increasingly target younger people through social media.

Speaking at a news conference on Oct. 19, Bonta said Americans lost $20.9 billion to internet-based scams in 2025, including $11.4 billion to cryptocurrency scams. He said artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and malicious smart contracts have made fraud easier to carry out and more difficult to detect and prevent.

While older Californians remain targets, Bonta said his office has seen a sharp rise in reports of Gen Z consumers being targeted on platforms such as Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram.

One growing scheme involves so-called rug-pull scams, in which fraudsters promote low-priced stocks or volatile cryptocurrencies through online investment groups and streaming communities. After generating interest and driving up prices, scammers sell their holdings, causing values to collapse and leaving investors with losses.

Bonta also warned about sextortion, in which scammers trick or coerce victims into sharing explicit images before threatening to distribute them to friends and family unless they pay. He advised victims not to give in to demands, saying scammers often do not release the images when victims refuse to pay. Instead, he recommended ignoring and blocking the perpetrators.

Another scheme, known as recovery fraud, targets people who have already lost money to cryptocurrency scams. Fraudsters impersonate blockchain recovery specialists or law enforcement officials and demand additional payments while promising to recover stolen assets.

Bonta urged Californians to be skeptical of promises of large returns on small investments, fake cryptocurrencies resembling established ones, and celebrity endorsements that may have been generated using artificial intelligence. He also warned that scammers can use AI to impersonate loved ones through manipulated video and audio.

“Never use a crypto ATM,” Bonta said, emphasizing that transactions can be difficult to trace and reverse and that the machines lack adequate consumer protections.

His office has shut down more than 100 fraudulent websites over the past two years that collectively scammed victims out of at least $8.3 million, he said.

Bonta also highlighted Senate Bill 1208, which he said was recently signed into law. The measure allows law enforcement to petition a court to return seized cryptocurrency to victims, including when alleged perpetrators are outside U.S. jurisdiction.

Residents who have fallen victim to scams can report them to the California Department of Justice at oag.ca.gov/report.

Bonta also urged victims not to feel embarrassed, stressing that scammers are responsible for the harm they cause.