The city of Gilbert, Arizona, has been ranked among the top ten places in the United States to raise children.
The small city, essentially a wealthy suburb of Phoenix, is home to 290,000 residents, nearly a third of whom are under 18 years old.
a survey by Wallet Center ranked Gilbert as the sixth best place in the country to start a family in 2024.
The site analyzed more than 180 cities across the country using 45 key metrics considered important for raising a family, including housing costs, health care, the quality of their schools and recreational activities.
But the city keeps a dark secret: a young gang roams freely in the area.
The city of Gilbert, Arizona has been ranked among the top ten places in the US to raise children.
A street gang nicknamed the ‘Gilbert Goons’ has plagued the Phoenix suburbs attacking teenagers and robbing stores.
Once considered the second safest city in the country, Gilbert has made national news for all the wrong reasons with teenage criminals who have been terrorizing the community since 2022.
The Gilbert Goons are known for recording lightning-style attacks in parks, parking lots, outside fast food restaurants, and at house parties.
After carrying out the attacks on unsuspecting people, they post the videos on social media.
Victims and area residents have described the group as mostly white, upper-middle class teenagers from various East Valley high schools.
Their attacks appeared unmotivated and were often recorded and shared by the attackers themselves.
Several lawsuits have been filed alleging that law enforcement and school officials allowed bullies to continue unleashing their violence since at least 2022.
The small city, essentially a wealthy suburb of Phoenix, is home to 290,000 residents, where nearly a third of the population is under 18 years old.
Following a months-long investigation into the group, Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg confirmed last month that the group operates as an organized criminal entity.
The Goons’ reign of terror: DailyMail.com can reveal how the youth gang ran amok in the Arizona town before Preston Lord’s death in October.
The teens’ reign of violence, which allegedly included armed robberies and dozens of assaults at parties and parking lots, culminated in the fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord.
Last month, the group of youths who have been terrorizing suburban Phoenix were finally designated as a criminal street gang.
The teens’ reign of violence, which allegedly included armed robberies and dozens of assaults at parties and parking lots – several with brass knuckles – culminated in the fatal beating of 16-year-old Preston Lord at a Halloween party last year. .
After a months-long investigation into the gang, Embattled Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg confirmed the group operates as an organized criminal entity.
The city’s police chief explained that the Goons were classified as a “hybrid gang” due to their reliance on social media, their members are not of the same race, and they have a “lax or absent” code of conduct.
According to police, the Goons lack aspects of a traditional gang, including defined leadership and rules, specific use of symbols and colors, and lifelong commitments.
Suspected thugs Treston Billie and Jacob Meisner are named in Kuehner’s lawsuit after several assault arrests in Gilbert. Both are also charged with Lord’s murder.
A survey by Wallethub ranked Gilbert as the sixth best place in the country to start a family in 2024.
Sarah Williams, right, and April Gould teach an online goat yoga class in Gilbert
The Goons have been involved in at least 95 robberies in 18 attacks, most in Gilbert, the Arizona Republic.
Police Chief Michael Soelberg previously told DailyMail.com that his department has made 29 arrests in connection with attacks.
Despite national news about teen violence in Gilbert, in May Chief Soelberg denied that teen violence was particularly bad in the area.
He said: ‘Overall Gilbert is a safe community but we are not immune to the problems we have seen across the country so we are no different to anyone else.
‘We are a large community with almost 300,000 people, and within our community we have 80,000 teenagers and less. And then when you have that many kids, there’s bound to be some conflict among teenagers and that’s what we see across the country.”
But more videos of teenage attacks and claims made by alleged victims about the Goons’ reign of terror following Lord’s fatal beating at a Halloween party in October in nearby Queen Creek were shared with police.
Seven teenagers and young men, including several suspected of being the Goons, have been charged with his murder, prompting accusations from some in the community who believe the alleged killers should have been taken off the streets a long time ago.
