Rockstarz, VCG Arrests: Nearly 50 Brooklyn Gang Members In Custody After Posting On Facebook About Alleged Murders

BUSTED! 49 Gang Members Get Busted Thanks To Facebook

“Rockstarz are up 3-0."

This post, spotted on Facebook by police, isn't a sports score. It's believed to be a body count.

Members of the Rockstarz gang posted this alleged statistic to the social networking site after a reported shooting with a member of rival gang Very Crispy Gangsters (VCG), according to The New York Times. Both gangs, based in Brooklyn, NY, had been using Facebook as a way to apparently threaten and mock each other; but this practice came to an abrupt end earlier in the week, when 49 members of the Rockstarz and VCG were arrested by police.

The rivalry between gangs reportedly turned violent after the shooting of VCG member Johnny Santiago on June 6, 2011, per the New York Post. Opposing members then began to "friend" each other on Facebook, reportedly sending threats and angry messages back and forth.

Still, the taunting didn't just involve nasty digital posts. The New York Times reports that one of the arrested members uploaded a picture of himself "wearing the belt and watch of a man whom the police said he had shot." The caption on Facebook read, "I can't give it back. You can't walk no more."

Brooklyn police using Facebook to investigate the escalating rivalry discovered some of these posts.

“Because of these individuals’ insatiable desire to brag about what they did, these investigators were able to draw a virtual map of their activities and bring them to justice,” Police commissioner Raymond Kelly said, according to The New York Times.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the two gangs are possibly responsible for "at least three murders and 12 shootings over the past three years," which includes injury to a 10-year-old boy who was hit by a stray bullet while watching television.

This isn't the first time police have swooped in on Brooklyn-based gang members bragging on Facebook. Last January, 43 people from the Wave Gang and Hoodstarz were arrested after boasting about murders via Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. After these indictments, District Attorney Charles Hynes gave other gangs fair warning: "We know who you are. We know how you operate. Make no mistake about it. We're coming after you next."

What do you think about the methods used to arrest these gang members? Does it surprise you how much we overshare when using social media? Sound off in the comments section, or tweet us at [@HuffPostTech]. Then read up on web surveillance through social media, or flip through the slideshow below about what might get you banned from Facebook.

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