Inside London's 'deadliest' gang war where social media scoreboards rank stabbings, shootings and murders
LBC was given exclusive access to Operation Gallium - the Metropolitan Police’s largest crackdown on gang violence.
Gang members are being awarded points for violence in a social media "game" that is fuelling one of London’s deadliest street wars in recent years.
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Stabbings, shootings and murders are ranked in league-style tables shared online. The more serious the attack, the more points a gang member gets.
Police say this scoreboard system is one of the main reasons for a rise in youth violence across Lambeth and Southwark this year, which has seen 11 murders in just eight months.
LBC was given exclusive access to Operation Gallium - the Metropolitan Police’s largest crackdown on gang violence, during one of the capital’s most brutal and deadly street wars in recent years.
I joined undercover officers from the Met’s Proactive Firearms Team, who target the most dangerous gangs in the capital.
“We have one of the higher densities here of different gangs which claim territory around here,” Reece, who has worked in the unit for two years, told LBC.
“Where there is more serious violence - stabbings and shootings - then that will invoke a response or retaliation.
“And that usually stems from online issues - taunting on social media.”
Reece explained how “gang scoreboards” posted online are fuelling much of the violence between street gangs.
“They call it a scoreboard,” he said. “In a lot of rap videos or Drill videos and on social media, you’ll hear about people ‘scoring’ or ‘getting on the board’.
“It is a method of keeping track of how active someone is on the gang scene. Being active is seen as a good thing and increases street credibility.
“So, if you’re active, you’ll be out stabbing people or starting fights and that scores points. They see it as a game.”
LBC has seen dozens of the scoreboards posted on TikTok and other social networks. In them, the gangs post who has scored points and for what. Many of the posts refer to stabbings and shootings.
One gang to a rival said in a post: “We are wiping the floor with you on the scoreboard."
Operation Gallium was launched after a series of shootings and stabbings in south London.
The latest victim in the violence is Auguste-Marie Bile-aka Amoa, a 25-year-old bus driver, who was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Clapham in August. It is believed he was not the intended target and was not involved in gang crime.
In the last five years, there have been 34 murders in Lambeth - more than any other borough in the capital.
So far, Operation Gallium has made more than 700 arrests and seized more than 40 deadly weapons, including guns and machetes. Drugs worth hundreds of thousands of pounds have also been taken off the street.
JJ is very well known in Brixton and has served time in prison for violence. One of his friends, Keanu Taylor, 25, was shot dead in a drive by shooting in May.
He said: “It’s sad to see that we’ve all been so desensitised to a scoreboard system, where young kids are killing each other to score a point - like scoring a goal in a football match. It just shows you how desensitised the youth are around here."
JJ explained how the gang ‘postcode war’ works. “Anything can happen around here. There’s a load of gangs operating in this area,” he told LBC.
“It’s got to the point now where if these youths that are in gangs see each other, from rival gangs, then they will just crash out and fight. There will be a shooting or a stabbing - they’ll definitely be looking to get a body.”
JJ said the majority of the community refuse to co-operate with the police during murder investigations. “We prefer to sort it out ourselves,” he added.
LBC was filming with the Proactive Firearms Team when they responded to a drive-by shooting in West Norwood, less than a mile away from Brixton.
“We’ve had a report of a vehicle involved in a shooting,” Reece said. “The victim hasn't been identified yet.
“There may be another suspect who was travelling in the car, but he’s left the vehicle. It’s likely that he will be carrying the firearm.”
Specialist firearms officers stopped a car nearby, and the driver was arrested on suspicion of firearms offences. The victim and the suspected gunman were not located.
At the time of publication, no one has been charged with the murders of Auguste-Marie Bile-aka Amoa or Keanu Taylor.
The Met says it is continuing its investigations and is urging anyone with information to contact them.