a special edition of "nightline" gangland. it's the middle of the night in the murder capital of the world. >> something's going on in the area. [ dog barking] >> we're in el salvador on patrol with armed to the teeth cops. >> this is a very dangerous place. >> reporter: they take us to this run down police station where they're holding allegedly vicious combatants in this country's all out gang war. >> how many people are they holding here? 169 people in here? [ speaking foreign language] >> reporter: not sure if you can get a sense of how small this is but it's tiny. they're just housed on top of each other. what does it say on your forehead? 6-6-6 he says. >> deoblow. >> they're only supposed to be in here for 72 hours. how long have you been here? >> one year. >> reporter: do you ever get to step outside? >> no. >> reporter: by young people who feel they have no choice but to join a gang. how strong is the bond with your other gang members? ♪ this is the war next door. in tiny el salvador, just over 1500 miles south of the

>>> this is a special edition of "nightline," gangland. a place where there is a homicide nearly every hour, even grieving families aren't safe. we're right there for gun fire at a wake. and we take you inside this over crowded jail. brimming with allegedly violent gangsters. now the gangs of el salvador are metastasizing across america, operating in nearly every state in the nation. this teenager hoping for a new life here in the u.s. and what he learned just hours ago. >> this special edition of "nightline," gangland, will be right back. z2022z z2025z >>> this is a special edition of "nightline," gangland. >> tonight we take you inside one of the most dangerous countries on earth, a place where gangs control entire neighborhoods and they're now operating in nearly every corner of america. families on both sides of the border caught in a toxic c a special edition of "nightline" gangland. it's the middle of the night in the murder capital of the world. >> something's going on in the area. [ dog barking] >> we're in el salvador on patrol wi

and what he learned just hours ago. >> this special edition of "nightline," gangland, will be right back

bradley wingo speak being the gangland shooting of his son who was shot coming home from school. the freshman was a member of the varsity basketball squad. he saided son never spoke to him about any threats on his life. >>> i always asked him, you know, told him hanging out with the wrong kids, everything, most of the kids are just basketball players that he played with. >> reporter: howard high was the scene of another infamous tragedy last month. a 16-year-old student died after a fight in the bathroom. >>> ringo recently attended prep school. >>> he was a hard worker. a really good athlete. really competitive, a quietly selfless person. in particular he said he will never forget his selfless act during a summer program. >>> he noticed a kid dibility have enough clothes and started giving them his and washing them. he didn't tell anybody about it. if he saw the right thing to do he would just do it. >> reporter: some former class mates were getting grief counseling. >>> i couldn't sleep all night. it was like my son, too, so tragic. he was a wonderful kid. >> reporter: the ques

again, dan's special edition of "nightline" called "gangland" airs later tonight, 12:37 eastern, to be exact. dan, we'll be watching. >>> there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this tuesday. the horror inside one family's home. you will hear the call to 911. the wrong home had been targeted. two teachers terrorized as their children were sleeping. their father, trying to fight off the attackers. >>> there's also new fallout tonight from that major league brawl. the punishment is just in. >>> and news tonight about the late james gandolfini. the paramedic now accused of stealing a valuable item as he lay dying. we'll be right back. & in a world held back by compromise, businesses need the agility to do one thing & another. only at&t has the network, people, and partners to help companies be... local & global. open & secure. because no one knows & like at&t. you do all this research on a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. your insurance company raises your rates... maybe you should've done more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual w

bradley wingo in shock and display speaking about the gangland shooting of his son who was walking home from howard high school school of technology, a member of the varsity high school squad. he saided son never spoke -- he said his son never spoke to him about any threats on his life. >>> i i told him about hanging out with the wrong kids boom boom boom and everything. most of the kids were basketball players. >> reporter: amy joyner-francis died in after a fight in the, te face charges in that case. brandon attended nativity prep where the principal spoke glowingly about him. >>> he was a phenomenal young man, hard worker, a competitive athlete and quietly selfless person. >> reporter: in particular he said he will never forget his selfless act during a summer program. >>> he noticed a kid didn't have enough clothes and started giving him his and washing them and he didn't tell anyone about it, he was just, if he saw the right thing to do he would just do it. >> reporter: some of brandon's former classmates were getting grief counseling, among them, the 14-year-old son of this woman.

three countries in central america, the northern triangle, as these countries have dissented into gangland chaos, drug were at all these things, you're saying a refugee crisis from a migrant crisis to whichever term you want to use. that is very different from white people came here in the '90s and in the first decade of the century as well. .. deciding what we are going to do with the undocumented here and what possibly is going to be for the future . don't we also need to be thinking about how if at all us policy can have an impact on the circumstances driving people to want to come here in such numbers and i'd welcome any thoughts anyone has on that challenge.>> or not. [laughter] >> i think it's an awfully big challenge because i think there are a lot of people here in the us for example that i think our understanding and very i think accepting of wanting to take care of people that are here. i think there's almost an isolationism in parts of the us right now. we see it in the political process though we don't want to get messed up in somebody else's politics and other affairs and i th