ABSTRACT
This chapter examines one of the key violent situations associated with gang life: drive-by shootings. It provides a historical background to show how drive-bys replaced other types of gang violence as a favoured tactic. By using Erving Goffman's concept of strategic interaction, the chapter also examines drive-bys as a strategy. It looks at the different types of situations where drive-bys develop and how they develop. In looking at some situations where drive-by shootings occur, one can get an inkling of the strategies and norms behind these attacks. The type of drive-by that occurs more or less accidentally or spontaneously emerges out of arguments. The chapter compares the hanging-out situation and emergent argument. In most ways there is not a lot of difference between a drive-by targeting a group hanging out and one that targets a party. Many of the gang-related drive-by shootings, especially among African-American gang members, did appear to be connected to the sale and distribution of crack cocaine.
