by Jolene Toves

Guam - Allegations of gang violence and illegal dog fighting in northern villages have not only residents but the Guam Animals In Need organization outraged.

They call themselves "The Yigo Bloods" and like many gangs lure youth into a lifestyle filled with illegal activities under the guise of living large. "We are just horrified by the whole thing and that somebody has the gall to post something like this on Facebook shows that we really need to start enforcing the animal abuse law as more stringently," explained GAIN board member Valerie Bock.

She told KUAM News she's shocked after seeing pictures and videos that were circulating on Facebook of young boys purporting to be part of The Yigo Bloods and engaging in illegal dogfighting activities. "From all the other things on that Facebook account shows along with the dogfighting comes a lot of other illegal activities and I know we reported it to GPD and they are looking into it.

"Most people in the law enforcement are aware that there is underground dogfighting going on - the problem is infiltrating that," she said.

The Facebook page has since been taken down, but has already caught the eye of the Guam Police Department. Police spokesperson Lt. Elizabeth Flickenger confirms with KUAM News they are aware of the posts on social media and are conducting an investigation.

As for Yigo mayor Rudy Matanane he like officials at gain are outraged about the violence. "As far as the dog fight I hope that it is not true that it is happening in my village because as you know that's against the law and as far as the gangs I really don't think it exists," he said.

While this is the first time Mayor Matanane was made aware of the Yigo Bloods he met with GPD and the Dededo mayor today to address the alleged gang activities and according to Matanane he feels GPD is handling the matter.

As we reported, a man was attacked in Dededo by a group of young adults who residents believe are part of a gang.

If you have any information about any gangs or illegal dogfights, call Guam Crimestoppers at 477-HELP (4357).