FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Police Thursday blamed the murder of two masons from St Ann on the migration of people from other parishes who take up residence in informal settlements and are allegedly responsible for a rise in crime in Trelawny.

Trelawny, police said, has been attracting more people to the parish because of a construction boom.

The deceased — Chevaughn Williams and Fabian Williams — are from the Grant Park area of Brown’s Town in the neighbouring parish of St Ann. For about three months they had resided in an informal settlement, just off Peel Street in Falmouth.

Police reported that about 3:00 am residents heard gunshots coming from a section of Peel Street, Falmouth, and summoned the police.

Upon their arrival, the police found the masons suffering from gunshot wounds. They were both taken to hospital where one of them was pronounced dead upon arrival. The other reportedly died while undergoing treatment.

No motive has so far been established for the deadly attack.

Acting commander of the Trelawny Police Division, Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Winston Milton said there was no evidence to suggest that the two St Ann masons were involved in any criminal activities.

“In recent times we are seeing a significant amount of migrants that are moving into our spaces. This has posed a significant threat to the safety and security of the parish of Trelawny. While we know nothing about the background of the two deceased, since the start of the year a number of persons with colourful history would have moved into our spaces and would have been involved in serious and violent crimes,” DSP Milton said.

He added that some of the migrants are victims of serious and violent crimes “or they themselves have been involved in the commission of serious and violent crimes”.

Meanwhile, he called on anyone with information which can lead to the arrest of the responsible perpetrators in the double murder, to contact the police.