By Clinton McGregor
With Christmas shopping activities in the downtown Kingston commercial district expected to increase in the coming days, the Kingston Western police and the military have launched a major operation, targeting gangs in West Kingston.
The police on Thursday released the names of 26 persons of interest (POI) being sought for questioning in connection with an upsurge of violence in the division.
Michael Christopher Coke, otherwise called "Tittiman" - the son of imprisoned Tivoli Gardens kingpin Christopher Dudus Coke - tops the list.
His relatives, Lester Coke and Andrew Coke, are also among the persons of interest.
According to Senior Superintendent Michael Phipps, head of the West Kingston Police, there has been a resurgence in gang violence in West Kingston over the last 72 hours, resulting in a number of shootings.
"We have seen what we want to think is a resurgence of that criminal gang violence involving the Scream Corner gang and the Tivoli Young Generation gangs and their coalition gangs. We have seen where there have been a number of shootings, a number of murders and we believe that these gangs are involved," he declared.
SSP Phipps said the persons of interest are being asked to turn themselves in to the police so they can be questioned.
As it relates to the downtown Kingston market district, he said there will be a heavy deployment of police and military personnel in the area to ensure the safety of shoppers and vendors over the holidays.
