A baby-faced street gang run by a 28-year-old ringleader terrorized a working-class Bronx neighborhood for months, turning it into a shooting gallery that left innocent bystanders wounded, prosecutors said Monday.
Tyreik “Tubby” Seth, the reputed boss of the “McKillville” gang, ordered gangbangers as young as 14 to shoot up the borough during a year-long turf war with rivals out of a local housing project, Bronx prosecutors said as they announced charges against 19 reputed gang members.
“These defendants were from 14- to 17-year-old boys who were urged on by men to elevate themselves in the gangs by committing attempted murders and assaults,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark told reporters at a press conference.
“The 28-year-old leader of the McKillville gang out of the McKinney Houses ordered his [gang] to shoot rivals, to be risk-takers,” Clark said. “And they did so to be elevated in the game and to win their leader’s favor.”
The gang’s reign of terror ran from May 2025 through April, with crew members plotting shootings on Instagram or through text messages, authorities said.
Videos posted on Instagram, YouTube and other apps showed the teens bragging about their alleged exploits.
The indictment unsealed Monday charges the 19 reputed gang members with conspiracy, attempted murder, assault and weapons tied to a dozen shootings. Seven of the gangbangers were 17 at the time they were indicted, while three were 15 and one was 14, the DA said.
Prosecutors said 11 guns were recovered in the operation.
Many of the teen gang members split their time with four different gangs to pull off 13 hits that left four bystanders wounded, authorities said.
In one brazen shooting captured on surveillance footage, a mom is seen throwing her body on top of her young son to shield him from the stray bullets as the terrified boy bursts into tears.
The operation was a joint effort that involved the DA’s Office and the NYPD.
“These defendants turned communities in the South Bronx into their violent playground by shooting at rivals, injuring four innocent bystanders and placing New Yorkers at risk while shamelessly taking credit for it on social media,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement.
Clark slammed the state’s lax “Raise the Age” statute, which raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18, giving hardened criminals kid-gloves treatment in court.
“The youth justice system, quite frankly, is broken, and the kids who enter into it were damaged long ago,” she said. “They had no guidance, they hadn’t been any resources. They want jobs, mental health assistance. They want things to do like sports or art, or music, or technology.”
