19 people connected to YBC gang feuds to be charged in sprawling indictment, sources say
At least five people affiliated with the Young Bag Chasers were taken into custody early Wednesday as part of a sweeping investigation by Philadelphia police and prosecutors.
Nineteen people are expected to be charged in the coming days in connection with a yearslong West Philadelphia gang war that investigators say fueled nearly two dozen shootings — including at least five homicides — across the city, according to sources familiar with the case.
The defendants include members of the Young Bag Chasers, or YBC, and rival cliques caught in a cycle of retaliation, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
At least five people were taken into custody early Wednesday as part of a sweeping investigation by Philadelphia police and prosecutors into the back-and-forth shootings in recent years.
Several of those expected to be charged are already behind bars — either awaiting trial or serving sentences for separate crimes, the sources said.
The names of people charged — and the cases solved — were not immediately available.
Officials said the nearly two dozen shootings linked to the groups — with a total of 35 victims between the ages of 5 and 42 — occurred between 2022 and 2024.
» READ MORE: The rise and fall of the Young Bag Chasers
The indictment follows a multi-year probe by Philadelphia police and the District Attorney’s Office’s Gun Violence Task Force into YBC and affiliated groups, including rival CCK — a trio of allied crews from West and South Philadelphia.
Most members of the groups were aspiring drill rappers who wrote songs about the ongoing shootings and conflicts, trolling homicide victims and their families, and encouraging more violence — and building a social media following in the process.
The indictment comes even as the number of people affiliated with YBC has dwindled in recent years and the groups’ feuds have quieted. The face of YBC, Abdul Vicks, aka YBC Dul, was shot and killed in August 2024, and many other members are serving decades in prison for murder.
Still, there are dozens of shootings connected to their feuds, which peaked during the pandemic-era spike in shootings, that remained unsolved — including the killings of many of its members.
This is a developing story and will be updated.