Pirus
Details
| Founded | 1969 |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Compton |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Territory | Compton, Inglewood, Los Angeles, Carson, Watts, San Diego, Atlanta, Houston, Little Rock, NYC, throughout US |
| Ethnicity | African American |
| Criminal activities | Murder, drug trafficking, robbery and extortion |
| Allies | Black P. Stones, Norte 14, Latin Kings, United Blood Nation NYC, People Nation (Midwest) |
| Rivals | Crips, Hoover Criminals, Asian Boyz, Folk Nation (Midwest) |
Sources
Pirus
Introduction
The Pirus, also known as P-Phonks (PFunk), and formally known as the “Piru Street Boys”, are a Black American street gang alliance based in Compton, CA. Pirus soon spread throughout Los Angeles county and state wide. Piru sets make up most of the original Blood Alliance in Los Angeles. Pirus identify with burgundy as their color, but they also wear red for their Bloods alliance.
The Pirus comprise various sub-groups known as "sets" between which significant differences exist such as colors, clothing, operations, and political ideas which may be in open conflict with each other. Since their creation, the Pirus gangs have branched throughout the United States.
History
In 1969, the Pirus were created by teenagers and young black men based in Compton, California. The term originally refers to Piru Street, a residential street in Compton and neighboring Willowbrook; it has been adapted as a backronym for Powerful Indestructible Revengeful United, or alternatively Political Inner-city Revolutionary Union. In 1969 the Crip alliance was made by smaller gangs. The Pirus joined the Blood Alliance, making a large "set" of the Bloods. At that time, there were various sets throughout the region of Los Angeles, California. However, these sets were small groups of hustlers. In 1969, fifteen-year-old Raymond Washington started the Crips street gang with friends from his neighborhood on the East Side of South Central Los Angeles. The Crips began to attack hustler groups and cliques in order to create a larger organization. They have also performed several drive-by shootings.
Subsets
A subset, Murdaland Mafia Pirus, was created in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2018, Dontray Johnson was convicted of murder for shooting and killing two fellow members in November 2012 for violating rules of the gang. Johnson had posted on his Facebook profile, "198 n risen" referring to Baltimore's homicide toll of that year.
- Tree Top Piru
- Fruit Town Piru
In media
Films
West Side Pirus are shown as prominent characters in the 2020 feature film Bompton Had a Dream. The lead character, Phoolie, is a West Side Piru, and the film was entirely shot in the Piru side of Compton.