And so while another shooting has occurred in the St Martin's area, the ComPol said it's not from lack of mediation. We have previously reported that ComPol Williams is on a mission to squash the gang violence in that area. He told the media today that he is appealing to the softer side of these gang members, letting them know that they can't fight fire with fire. He said that with his crime fighting team, he is hopeful that they will be able to suppress the gang activity.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"The St Martin's area is extremely challenging I must say and it has a lot to do with the clusters of gangs that resides in that area and the close proximity within which they reside. And myself, Miss Westby from CYDP and brother Nuri, we have been active on the ground in that area trying to see how we can quell the issues between these different fractions and while, yes, we have the shooting of Ryan Cole, the good thing about that is that it was internal within the PIV gang and not an issue where Back-a-Land and PIV were going at each other and so the fact that it was internal, it is more easy to contain as opposed to them going at each other. We are supposed to have another session this evening at four with the different fractions, again all with a view to see how we can keep the peace going much longer and to forge a more permanent solution moving forward and so there's a lot of work that needs to be done. We have also solicited the assistance of Mr Cordel Hyde and he is onboard with us, working in the background to see what he can do from a political standpoint looking at the economical issues that affects the people in St Martin's area and then he is going to see how he can assist us with that. And so we believe that with the different groups we have working with us we will be able to find a good solution to the problem and notwithstanding that, as police we have to remain vigilant on the grounds we cannot put our guards down cause we know that flare ups are always possible within the Martin's area and so we have to ensure there is no flare ups because once we have one it become extremely difficult to contain."
The recent shooting of Ryan Cole follows four murders in that area in the past two weeks.
