In 1993, a group on the East Coast created a gang known as the United Blood Nation. Although many of these groups were nothing more than childish groups mimicking dress and slang they saw in a movie, some soon became involved in violent activity and drug sales comparable to gang activity committed by original Blood gang members in California. It was after this movie that many teens with no connection to the Los Angeles based gang began creating their own Blood gangs. It has been rumored that some movie theaters actually promoted the movie by offering a bandana to movie attendees. The movie Colors, staring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall was released which focused on the gang problem in Los Angeles. It was during the late 1980s that the Bloods became a household name.

To minimize attention from law enforcement, many Blood gang members abandon wearing obvious identifiers of gang affiliation so they could continue illegal activity with little fear of apprehension. Some Blood members moved to several large cities throughout the West Coast to expand their drug market. Gang territories became more important as the many Blood and Crip sets fought over drug sales locations. Crack or more properly called rock cocaine was cheaper and much more addictive than the powder form of the drug. It was during this time crack hit Los Angeles. Conflict with the Crips continued and the Bloods found themselves heavily outnumbered.īetween 1982 – 1984 the violence between the two groups skyrocketed. During the next 10-years the Bloods continued to operate and grow in a fragmented manner. They lead the revolt against the Crips and were instrumental in creating the Bloods gang in 1972. The most well known gang within this group was the Piru Street Boys. It was during this time of conflict that several gangs joined forces to combat the growing Crip threat. “Ash to ash, dust to dust, bloods I trust Crabs we bust, kill a crab, win a prize Kill a blood your whole family dies.” As the Crips grew in South Central Los Angeles in the early 1970s they began targeting other gangs.

Piru blood gang codes