Chattanooga police, with the help of at least seven other law enforcement agencies, rounded up 38 suspected gang members in a citywide sweep today.

Those arrested included a murder suspect, people suspected of various shootings and illicit drug activity and those believed responsible for this summer’s fire bombings near East Lake Courts.

“Today has been a very bad day for gang members in Chattanooga,” district Attorney General Bill Cox said. “But it’s been a very good day for law enforcement and everyone else.”

The arrests come in the wake of a summer gang war touched off with the stabbing death of LaTony Johnson on June 26. That led to fire bombings in several nearby neighborhoods.

Not everyone arrested today was involved in that incident, police said.

At least eight of the suspects rounded up today will face felony charges that could range from life in prison to prison terms up to 30 years, said Lt. Tim Carroll, head of Chattanooga’s major crimes division.

For complete details, see tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press.

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