The Gangs of Cape May County?

Shots rang out in the Burleigh section of Middle Township last week shocking residents of this small Cape May County shore town.  But a new kind of concern is surfacing in the wake of evidence that the incident may have been the result of gang violence.

When NBC40.net informed a local resident that a gang called the Bloods may be responsible for the recent gunshots near her block, Rohema Foster said, "That's kind of unnerving, and it's kind of like in this neighborhood, I just can't imagine. Even in Cape May County, a gang? I'm like okay, yeah, that's unnerving, really and truly."

Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor told NBC40:

"There are ten documented gangs in the Cape May County Correctional Center and as we saw this past week, there seems to a be a power struggled between two sets ofthe Bloods in the county."

Taylor says an increasing epidemic in the area of heroin distribution is likely the leading cause of recent violence.

"We believe the gangs are responsible for a lot of the drug dealing involving heroin and we're actively investigating that and recently we had to put asecond narcotics task force on the streets to try and deal with," said Taylor.

Taylor says the chief concern is that of the children in the higher gang traffic areas.

If you witness anything suspicious you are urged to call local authorities.