NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The U.S Attorney's office confirms what most don't want to hear -- Nashville is home to one of the world's most violent and deadly gangs.

VIDEO: Members Of Worldwide Gang Indicted In Nashville

Prosecutors said they have indicted 13 members of the MS-13 gang and that those gangsters committed some of Nashville’s most notorious crimes of 2006.

A federal indictment shows just how deeply the MS-13 gang’s roots run in Nashville.

The indictment claims Nashville members of the Los Angeles-based gang La Mara Salvatrucha killed three people and attempted to kill seven others.

"MS-13 swept into Nashville like a pack of jackals and they left a group of bloody victims in their wake," said Special Agent Jim Cavanaugh with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Those indicted were Oscar Serrano, Escolastico Serrano, Omar Hirbin Gomez, David Alexander Gonzalez, Ernesto Isai Mendez-Tovar, Francisco Dago Mendez, Walter Hernandez, Henry Garballo-Vasquez, Eliseo Iglesias, Ronald Fuentes, Ericka Cortez, Geovanni Pena and Jose Alfaro.

“Nashville MS-13 members participated in three murders, seven attempted murders and numerous other shootings and murder plots just here in Nashville. … just over the past year alone,” said U.S. Attorney Craig Morford.

The indictment traces MS-13's trail in Nashville back to Jan. 20, 2006.

The indictment charges that on Nolensville Road on that evening, two members shot a man in the head as he sat behind the wheel of his car, then two hours later shot a 22-year-old convenience store clerk.

Both victims survived.

The indictment also claims that an hour and a half after those shootings, they shot and killed another man after an argument.

Prosecutors said that, to a gangster, the crimes make perfect sense.

“MS-13 gang exists for the express purpose of protecting the power, territory and profits of MS-13 gang members,” Morford said.

The indictment claims two other MS-13 gang members shot two men to death in their car near Ocala Drive.

The indictment said the gang members killed the men because they believed the men belonged to a rival gang.

MS-13 also has members in Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador, and boasts more than 10,000 members.

"Unlike a lot of gangs, this is not really a drug-based gang," said Cavanaugh. "This a violence-based gang going after other gangs."

The individuals were part of the Thompson Place Locos Salvatruchos, a clique of the national group that operated in Nashville. All 13 are currently in federal or state custody and face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.

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