April 14 (UPI) -- The police commissioner on Long Island's Suffolk County declared war on the MS-13 gang Thursday after the discovery of four mutilated bodies in a Central Islip park
The slayings are "a stark reminder that we are in the midst of a war," Timothy Sini said, standing across the street from where the bodies of four young men were found Wednesday night. "We're going to continue that war."
MS-13, already blamed for six Long Island slayings, emerged as the prime suspects because of the brutality of the executions.
Wednesday's discovery came six weeks after 13 alleged MS-13 gang members were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for murders.
MS-13 was founded in Los Angeles by immigrants seeking safe haven from a civil war in their native El Salvador during the 1980s.
"This is a long-term war," Sini said. "And make no mistake about it, it's a war."
