Number of gangs El Paso, TX 5/09 539 
                                              4/08 492  (representative statistics)
                                              8/05 465
                                           1999 <250

Selected 1999 statistic
Five large urban counties experience a large portion of the violence and weapons. When looking at the total number of violence and weapons, Bexar, Dallas, El Paso, Harris and Tarrant counties reported 44 percent of all incidents of gang violence, 42 percent of assaults against students, 44 percent of assaults against teachers and staff, and 53 percent of all weapon confiscations. El Paso has the highest rate of gang violence and weapons and the lowest rate of assaults against teachers of the 5 counties. Tarrant county has a very high rate of assaults against students and weapons confiscations.

VIOLENCE AND WEAPONS IN TEXAS SCHOOLS Released: May 18, 1999  Center for Public Policy Priorities, Texas Kids Count, "Measuring Up: The State of Texas Education                                           http://www.cppp.org/kidscount/education/index.html