A child is shot accidentally offscreen (we see his body briefly), and a cousin is killed in a drive-by shooting (again, this is offscreen, but we do see him briefly on the ground). There is a brief shootout (nobody is shown being hit), as well as a crossfire scene where a teenager is shot accidentally when the target was actually another teenager. There are also several scenes of teenagers involved in gang-related fighting, and talk and scenes of a mother and a teenager being physically abused.
Additionally, there are discussions relating to the Holocaust, though with minimal visual display.
The film opens with apparent news footage from the Los Angeles Rodney King riots that depict explosions, fires, rioters, and police.