11 Arrested to Keep Them From Festival
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GARDEN GROVE — Police arrested 11 gang members Thursday on suspicion of parole or probation violations to prevent them from attending the weekend Tet Festival.
The raids in four cities targeted “known gang members” who might have attended the festival, officials said. During the festival two years ago, a gang shooting in a Westminster cafe left three young men wounded.
Of the 50 gang members who were contacted by police in Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Westminster, 11 were arrested on suspicion of having firearms, stolen property or drugs, Garden Grove Police Sgt. David Johnson said. People on probation or parole are legally bound to submit to unannounced searches, he said.
About 65 officers, including parole and probation authorities, were part of the sweep. Last year, officials arrested 10 gang members during a similar raid days before the festival.
The 1996 shooting at Cafe Thach Thao had little impact on the city’s street celebration, but community leaders decried the violence as an insult to the festival honoring ancestors.
The annual festival, which marks the Vietnamese new year and draws tens of thousands of people, has been held in the city since 1980.
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