TikTok Provokes Violence: Gang Feud Fueled by Viral Video

Commissioner of Police, Doctor Rosado, held a press conference right in front of the victim’s home, where he confirmed what many had feared: a live TikTok video, streamed by Patrick Jones, played a major role in escalating tensions between two rival gangs. According to the Commissioner, police were already monitoring the situation online and working to take the videos down. But the content spread so fast, it was nearly impossible to contain.

 

Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police

“Our initial investigation reveals that the incident may have occurred on the fourth of July sometime around seven thirty p.m. when shots were heard in the area. Our investigation also revealed it may have been as a result of escalating gang tension within rival groups. We believe it may have stemmed from a live on social media in which one member of  certain group issued threats and taunts to another rival group member which escalated to two family members of that person being shot and killed. We are following up all leads and we were monitoring the tensions due to the escalating exchange in the social media and our GI3 personnel and our special branch personnel were monitoring before it escalated quickly. We recognize we must do some adjustment to our strategy to be able to monitor and prevent incidents like these from happening in the future.”

 

Reporter

“Are you able to say what led to the escalation to this guy going live?”

 

Dr. Richard Rosado

“We are still trying to establish his motive in doing that. We acknowledge he went live and it was shared by a number of organization and individuals which sparked the violent confrontation.”

 

Reporter

“Are you saying the other parties would not have seen that live on their own if it was not shared widely?”

 

Dr. Richard Rosado

“Our cybercrime unit were working closely with social media platform. We were monitoring,. Identifying and removing them. But we recognize the persistent challenges, as one is taken down somebody else posted it. We recognized that but we were monitoring it from the onset.”