She’s prone to giggling and has a cherubic baby face, but Kim, a 16-year-old Harlem high school student, is no angel: She’s been in an all-girl gang, stashing guns and beating up rivals, before youth counselors at Operation Snug intervened, working to keep her straight and prepare her for college. Kim (her name has been changed because she fears retribution) tells The Post about life in a crew, where she terrorized challengers — and faced violent revenge.
I like hanging out with the boys. I was ready to ride for the block. I’m a one-man army.
After my mom kicked me out, I joined up. If you want to get by, you do. To be a part of the crew, you have to get beat up or cut someone. Then you’re protected. They’re your family.
I got into some fights. Some girl was talking about me online. She called me a punk and a slut, so I decided to fight her. I was in this building and somebody called and said she was on the block. I thought she would come after me. I ran outside. I pulled out her tracks [hair extensions] and made her body hurt. Everyone said I beat her up. But I was scared — I thought she would come after me.
Another time we were on the block, hanging out, me and a girl and a guy she likes. She got upset because he was talking to me and starting to make a scene. The boys came around and were like, “Beat her up. Go pop on her!” She kept going, so I hit her with my fist.
A boy asked me, “Could you hold this down for me?” It was 2-2 [.22 caliber pistol]. It was a bad idea. But cops don’t check on females. Girls are trying to get their names out there. They do the same things as boys.
But it got too much. One time me and a girl were coming from a barbecue and got jumped. A boy was there from a rival gang. I told her, “We’re not supposed to be over here.” She said no, it’s OK. But a group of about 10 girls came at us. I said, “Run, they’re coming.”
One girl hit me and another female hit me — boom. They pulled out their weapons. They had knives. I ran into a store and behind the cash register. The guy told me to get out. I said, “I just got jumped. If I leave, I’m going to die.” When you have 10 females on you, you have to run. I ran. I took four punches to the face. After that I didn’t want to come back to Harlem for a month. I was in danger. But you have to keep moving forward.
We talk about violence. It’s not necessary. Some people would rather get negative attention. But you don’t have to prove anything to anybody but yourself. You have to stay true to yourself.
I want to be a lawyer, go to Harvard or Princeton. I like writing, math. I like being here [at Operation Snug]. I feel safe. It makes me feel like somebody got out.