The 311 Boyz was a teen gang[1][2][3] in Las Vegas, Nevada, estimated at 140 members,[2] who beginning in the summer of 2003 committed or were suspected of a number of violent acts.
At a party, three teens (Stephen Tanner Hansen, Joseph Grill, Craig Lefevre) in a pickup truck fled from the scene in fear of an altercation.
Hansen survived: his arm was broken; his face was shattered, requiring metal plates to stabilize the bones; and his vision was permanently impaired in one eye.
Excessive amounts of highly critical coverage by The Las Vegas Review-Journal may have created the appearance of an imminent danger to the community where little existed.
High school boys involved in a violent altercation were presented by news coverage as a unique youth phenomenon and a dangerous new type of gang, one that was savagely and randomly attacking community members.