strap
n.—Gloss: a firearm or a person carrying a firearm, i.e., a person who is “strapped,” which means carrying a concealed weapon. «A high-ranking gang member who was on life support after being shot, and whose sister was overheard talking on her cellphone in the hospital, urging someone to “get those straps together. Get loaded.”» —“Blocking the Transmission of Violence” by Alex Kotlowitz New York Times May 4, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Suppose you take off your sandals and then carry them while holding the straps in your hand. In that case, is it correct to call those straps handles? Phil in Omaha, Nebraska, has a longstanding dispute with a friend over that question. You might...
The painful condition called shingles takes its name from Latin cingulum, meaning belt, because the inflammation often appears as a belt-like band around the torso. The Latin root of cingulum, cingere, meaning to gird, is also the source of cinch, a...
So is a strap a gang member, or a relative, or a firearm, or what?
The quotation, though presumably helpfully authentic, doesn’t offer much guidance for those who don’t move in such circles.
Not sure. That’s why it’s an unresearched citation. If it had been researched, there’d be a full entry. It’s most likely either a firearm or a person who carries one (i.e., gunmen, hired killers, or gang soldiers).