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UER Mobile > UE Main > Have you had a gang encounter? (Viewed 6460 times)

post by Aran

Have you had a gang encounter?
< on 4/10/2015 3:04 AM >

Just curious, how many of you have ever encountered gang members while exploring?

When I first started out, I was scouting an area that I knew was disputed by some local gangs, judging by the more recent graffiti in the area. While wandering the area outside the building, three guys walked by me, one of them flashing a knife. That's when I high- tailed it out of there.

Thinking back, I think it may have been the color of my clothes that caused one of them to flash a knife. They were wearing black and red clothing and, if I remember correctly, bandannas, while I was wearing a green sweatshirt and blue jeans (randomly chosen for that day, no intended significance with the colors on my part).

According to answers.com, they may have been members of the Immortal bloods:

- Asian Neutral Boys, regional gang highly active in Wausau (30-40 mem). Members are also spread around Wisconsin in cities like Green Bay (10 mem), Sheboygan (15-20 mem), and Stevens Point (5 mem). Long time rivalry are the Immortal Bloods. (See below)

- Immortal Bloods, regional gang active in Wausau (20 mem). Other locations are in the states of California and Minnesota. Long time rivalry with the Asian Neutral Boys.

Various Google searches revealed that the ANB is affiliated with the Crips, while the Immortal Bloods almost have to be associated with the more well- known Bloods with a name like that.

Additional Googling found that green and blue are sometimes associated with the Crips. I have a bad feeling that they mistook me for someone I am definitely not, just because of the color of my randomly chosen clothing that day and the high tensions in that part of town at the time.

To be honest, I'm pretty glad I ran, because I have no desire to cross either of those gangs. Things have calmed down in that area, with no new gang graffiti in months, but it still was a bit of a jarring experience.

What are your encounters with gang members?

[last edit 4/10/2015 3:06 AM by Aran - edited 5 times]

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post by General Zod

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 1 on 4/10/2015 12:52 PM >

This post is why I'm afraid to buy better camera gear.

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post by JasonJacksonPhoto

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 2 on 4/11/2015 12:23 AM >

Posted by General Zod
This post is why I'm afraid to buy better camera gear.

Same here haha. I've actually scouted out a building first before I brought in all my gear because I was certain I'd find some sketchy characters in there.

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post by General Zod

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 3 on 4/11/2015 3:34 AM >

Posted by JasonJacksonPhoto

Same here haha. I've actually scouted out a building first before I brought in all my gear because I was certain I'd find some sketchy characters in there.

Seriously.

And after all the unnecessary ~shit* that I have been through, you don't even want to know how over-planned, over-wrought my scouting out sessions are these days.. especially if I were to now hoist at least 5-6K worth of gear into a ghetto area, only to find it vaporize, due to some untraceable crime delivered upon my unsuspecting head.

May as well hire a body guard. LOL

[last edit 4/11/2015 3:45 AM by General Zod - edited 2 times]

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post by IndoAnomaly

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 4 on 4/11/2015 3:53 AM >

Posted by General Zod
This post is why I'm afraid to buy better camera gear.

Yep. A group of us were scouting a location last week when a cop passed us on the street. He pulled a U-turn as fast as he could and rolled up on us. We told him we were just taking pictures of the area. Transcript of our conversation:

Cop: "Y'all just taking pictures?
Me: "Yessir."
Cop: "Please be careful."
Me: "Careful?"
Cop: "Just be careful."
Me: "Oh, are we not in the best part of town?"
Cop: "No son. There is a strong possibility that someone is going to beat you up and make off with all your gear."
Me: "Oh, very good to know. Thanks."
Cop: "We will be just down the road. Keep your cellphones handy."
Me: "Thank you sir."
Cop: "Keep your cellphones handy. Have a good one."

I wasn't actually worried before, but he put the fear in me a little bit. We were about one or two miles down the road from the police department. Literally on the same street as the police department. Sketch.

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post by nicknolte

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 5 on 4/11/2015 7:44 AM >

Posted by IndoAnomaly

Yep. A group of us were scouting a location last week when a cop passed us on the street. He pulled a U-turn as fast as he could and rolled up on us. We told him we were just taking pictures of the area. Transcript of our conversation:

Cop: "Y'all just taking pictures?
Me: "Yessir."
Cop: "Please be careful."
Me: "Careful?"
Cop: "Just be careful."
Me: "Oh, are we not in the best part of town?"
Cop: "No son. There is a strong possibility that someone is going to beat you up and make off with all your gear."
Me: "Oh, very good to know. Thanks."
Cop: "We will be just down the road. Keep your cellphones handy."
Me: "Thank you sir."
Cop: "Keep your cellphones handy. Have a good one."

I wasn't actually worried before, but he put the fear in me a little bit. We were about one or two miles down the road from the police department. Literally on the same street as the police department. Sketch.

Maybe the police were the ones that you should have been afraid of. He was probably scouting your gear, lolol

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post by General Zod

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 6 on 4/11/2015 9:20 PM >

Posted by nicknolte

Maybe the police were the ones that you should have been afraid of. He was probably scouting your gear, lolol

Nah. Despite all the negative media happenings lately, there are plenty of good cops who would rather not give you grief.

I was in Bridgeport, CT once, and a cop rolled up on me because I was taking pics through a chain link fence (as if that were a big deal) and I was like:

"Oh, Hey there, officer. Nope, I don't want to go IN there... I'll DIE!"

and he was all like:

"No prob.. we have to chase drug dealers into those buildings all the time."

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post by DSomms

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 7 on 4/12/2015 2:33 AM >

Gang members. I don't know... probably? Interacting with people from the neighborhood is typical for me, but I can't remember anybody specific that I would assume was in a gang.

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post by General Zod

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 8 on 4/12/2015 3:44 AM >

Posted by DSomms
Gang members. I don't know... probably? Interacting with people from the neighborhood is typical for me, but I can't remember anybody specific that I would assume was in a gang.

Welp..... Considering urbex, and that I'm from a place as simple as PROVIDENCE. And you being from a sketchy place like DETROIT, I'd have to say that this the most comforting thing I've read all fucking day.

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post by DSomms

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 9 on 4/12/2015 6:47 AM >

Posted by General Zod

Welp..... Considering urbex, and that I'm from a place as simple as PROVIDENCE. And you being from a sketchy place like DETROIT, I'd have to say that this the most comforting thing I've read all fucking day.

It's really not that bad. The key to successful exploring in the deep Detroit hood is to look like you belong there, like you're from there. Walk and talk with confidence, purpose and familiarity. Don't present yourself as a potential target or someone who is up to no good. You won't blend in.

Above all else, stay in control of the situation. Trust your gut and know your limits. Detroit can and will be a dangerous place if you fail to properly assess a potentially hostile situation or make totally boneheaded decisions.

Since I started exploring Detroit in 2006, I've been in some really tight spots that I'm surprised we made it out, but never anything that could not have been prevented or escaped from.

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post by Flashyfashionfraud

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 10 on 4/21/2015 5:09 AM >

I escaped with my life after getting into a fight in Oakland, CA when I was exploring with my ex-roommate back in August. I still have the cigar burn on my arm from it, I also got into a fist fight in LA with a Latin Kings (I think that's what they're called) gang member at a McDonald's after coming back from exploring last summer.

I don't fuck with gangs and try to avoid any suspicious groups when I can in abandonments. In my years of exploring I only had those two incidents happen, and they left epic scars and great stories but at the time it was pretty freaky and surreal.

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post by sangp

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 11 on 4/23/2015 3:59 AM >

Posted by General Zod

Seriously.

And after all the unnecessary ~shit* that I have been through, you don't even want to know how over-planned, over-wrought my scouting out sessions are these days.. especially if I were to now hoist at least 5-6K worth of gear into a ghetto area, only to find it vaporize, due to some untraceable crime delivered upon my unsuspecting head.

May as well hire a body guard. LOL

Well, while there are many factors to improving the safety of yourself and your gear you run the risk anytime you move about in the inner city. While Gangs would appear to be menacing, they really are not chillin' in abandoned buildings.. You will more than likely give yourself away when entering and be followed.

I think timing is everything. It pretty much goes without saying that the Winter months (in colder regions with snow) are best for dangerous areas and as well, you increase your safety by exploring early mornings (Sunday and Monday is best) starting at sunrise till about 10AM.

You need to know your surroundings and pay attention. 99% of crime is based on opportunity. Dont make it easy.

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post by SouthPaw

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 12 on 4/23/2015 7:27 PM >

Sort of... Walking around the city looking for a few locations I knew were around there, and had a couple of people someone told me were Bloods, less than a block up. Didn't realize we had them here (I knew we had minor street gangs), so I noped right out of there.

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post by DomVisuals

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 13 on 4/23/2015 7:39 PM >

I haven't ran into any gang members yet, but I would probably run.

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post by A Through Z Explorations

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 14 on 4/27/2015 5:14 AM >

I have, but it's usually followed by a BANG.
I may or may not be in the right forums for admitting to this.

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post by EsseXploreR

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 15 on 4/27/2015 7:30 PM >

Gang members? All over the place. At work, at home, out exploring. It doesn't worry me though, I think I'm less likely to get followed into some nasty abandoned building than my apartment or business. Plus, most people I've talked to in the more dangerous areas vehemently tout the presence of ghosts, so there's that as well.

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post by Aran

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 16 on 4/28/2015 1:37 AM >

Come to think of it, here's food for thought: A gang is generally defined to be "a group of three or more people who identify under a common name, symbol, or sign, and break laws together."

Does that mean that anyone who considers themselves an urban explorer and has explored with other urban explorers is a gang member? On a broader note, does that make everyone on this forum a gang member, since we identify as urban explorers (to get even more specific, members of UER) and discuss, plan, and carry out illegal (or at least semi-legal) acts together?

Ah, the joys of broad definitions...

[last edit 4/28/2015 1:38 AM by Aran - edited 1 times]

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post by Seahawk

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 17 on 4/28/2015 2:51 AM >

Peeked through a bent loading dock door at an abandoned warehouse a couple weekends ago to see 3 teenagers spray painting. When I went back this past weekend the area I saw them in had no tags of any artistic value.

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post by Dead_Bird

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 18 on 7/2/2015 9:41 PM >

Posted by Aran
Come to think of it, here's food for thought: A gang is generally defined to be "a group of three or more people who identify under a common name, symbol, or sign, and break laws together."

Does that mean that anyone who considers themselves an urban explorer and has explored with other urban explorers is a gang member? On a broader note, does that make everyone on this forum a gang member, since we identify as urban explorers (to get even more specific, members of UER) and discuss, plan, and carry out illegal (or at least semi-legal) acts together?

Ah, the joys of broad definitions...

Imagine the UE gang wars over photo critique , best equipment, or skills/techniques- Especially abandonment locations. Street cred yo' ! :p

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post by mookster

Re: Have you had a gang encounter?
<Reply # 19 on 7/3/2015 3:07 PM >

Only if you and your cohorts identify yourself as an 'urbex crew' and you have a penchant for posing in silly masks and all have matching hooded tops with the name of said crew stitched on the back.

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