Gangs running wild in Nashville suburbs? (Jackson, Franklin: home, safest area, place to live)

[Tyryztoll]

Was quite suprised to read this article from the Tennessean today. Gang shootings in Cool Springs? Isn't that supposed to be the most upscale area of the Nashville metro? Don't know if the article was an exaggeration or not, but as someone who has often thought of moving to Nashville someday, it definitely caught my attention.

Gangs expand their criminal business into TN suburbs | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

[BlueyedCat]

I don't think any areas are immune from gang activity any more. But yes; there is a problem here.

[vivelafrance]

I think the only reason it may be worse in Cool Springs, compared to other Nashville suburbs, is because of the Mall and how it is really a regional shopping/entertainment destination.

I was, however, glad to see that on the interactive county map, Sumner only had one gang known to be in operation whereas Davidson, Rutherford, and even Williamson appeared to have many gangs in operation.

[Tyryztoll]

Originally Posted by BlueyedCat

I don't think any areas are immune from gang activity any more. But yes; there is a problem here.

I guess I was more suprised by the fact that this particular gang has a home base in Franklin, and that they're apparently pretty active in that area. That would be like gangs running around the Bloomfield Hills region of Detroit, The North Shore of Chicago, or Alpharetta outside of Atlanta. Like you said, though I suppose all those scenarios are entirely possible in this day & age. What a shame. It seems any town with a population over 50,000 can be a dangerous place to live now.

[Tyryztoll]

Originally Posted by vivelafrance

I think the only reason it may be worse in Cool Springs, compared to other Nashville suburbs, is because of the Mall and how it is really a regional shopping/entertainment destination.

I don't mean to come off as uppity, but isn't there usually a larger, better equipped police presence in upscale areas of large cities that the wealthy taxpayers have to prevent stuff like this from infiltrating their communities? Or have these gangs become so powerful and numerous that they've become immune to any type of authority? I might be able to understand the thugs hanging out at the mall, but having a functional home base in a town like Franklin? What gives?

[BirdieBelle]

The one shooting incident they're referring to "in Cool Springs" occurred near an interstate exit. It's not like the Wild West here. It's yellow journalism on the part of the local newspaper. They run stories like this because they know it will bring out readers. The problem is it attracts all the people who like to argue about immigration on comment boards. The Cool Springs mall area is bookended by two interstate exits and can be attractive to criminals who would like a quick getaway. But those incidences are very rare and not representative of the area at all. It is nothing like the Hickory Hollow Mall area. The meeting they based the article on took place in Jackson, which is 2.5 hours away from Franklin.

[YallWantHam]

It sounds like the shooting was on the interstate, just near the Cool Springs exit. I wouldn't exactly consider that Cool Springs. Franklin has always had some gangs, so I don't really find it all that surprising.

[BlueyedCat]

Originally Posted by Northman

I guess I was more suprised by the fact that this particular gang has a home base in Franklin, and that they're apparently pretty active in that area. That would be like gangs running around the Bloomfield Hills region of Detroit, The North Shore of Chicago, or Alpharetta outside of Atlanta. Like you said, though I suppose all those scenarios are entirely possible in this day & age. What a shame. It seems any town with a population over 50,000 can be a dangerous place to live now.

It is a shame for sure. But from what I understand from the locals, this has been happening for awhile. It's not just in the Franklin area. I'm surprised it made the news. Usually they try to keep things like this under the radar. I can't say what my Husband does; but he has first hand knowledge of the gang activity here in Nashville and surrounding counties. There are some wanna be gang individuals but then you have the real dangerous ones too. Their spread out. It can be a poverty stricken area or it can be in the high end area.

[BlueyedCat]

Hopefully this will help you with what is out there. You can click on any of the gangs on the right side and it will show you what area they are in.

http://www.tennessean.com/gangs/about/bios.html (broken link)

[TVofM]

I work near Cool Springs and this is one of the safest areas I've ever seen.

Hickory Hollow is the danger zone. One of my favorite outlet stores (Rugged Warehouse) moved out of the Hickory Hollow area. I wish I knew where another was in this part of the country. You can't really blame them for getting out of there though.