The Holness administration moved on Sunday to stem the bloodletting by so-called “super gangs” by imposing a state of emergency (SOE) across the Kingston Central Police Division, home to some of the warring gangsters, and Kingston Western.

The latest flare-up in Kingston Central was sparked by the brutal slaying of Lorenzo Campbell, 28, and Oraine Baker, 35, in the east Kingston community of Dunkirk, according to law-enforcement sources.

Just before 6 p.m. the same day, Jermaine Brooks, 33, was reportedly shot and killed by Campbell’s cronies along East Queen Street, metres from the Central Police Station, which serves as the headquarters for Kingston Central.

But amid an overall 14 per cent decline in major crimes nationally since the start of the year, the Kingston West and Kingston Central police have recorded an uptick in violent crimes since January 1, Anderson disclosed.

There are 32 active gangs in the Kingston Central division, while half of the 48 gangs spread across Kingston Western are actively engaged in violent conflicts, he told journalists during a Jamaica House press conference Sunday.