Additional police resources have been deployed to the Westmoreland division, following an upsurge in murders and shootings in the parish in the past 24 hours.

Commander for Area One, Assistant Commissioner of Police Donovan Graham, says at least nine people have been shot since yesterday (February 25) eight of them fatally.

ACP Graham says the police high command deployed additional police resources to the parish to stem the violent upsurge.

A triple murder that occurred last night, is among the incidents being probed by the police.

Three men were shot and killed and two women shot and wounded at a bar in Williamsfield around 11:15 p.m.

The dead men have been identified as: 34 year old Corey Parkins of Cascade in Hanover; 23 year old Coran Birch otherwise called Jay of Woodsville in Hanover; and 21 year old Jahmar Warren from Grange in Westmoreland.

Meantime, police were also deployed to three other murder scenes in Bethel Town, Landillo and Lewis Street in Westmoreland this morning.

In the Landillo incident at about 8:17 this morning, a man identified only as Chucky was killed.

The police say Chucky and another man were having a conversation when the man took out a firearm and shot him. The assailant later fled in motor car.

Minutes later, at around 8:30 am 19 year old dead Ronaldo Campbell of Cook Street, Westmoreland, was shot and killed.

He was reportedly standing at a premises on Lewis Street when he was approached by three men armed with hand guns.

He ran and was chased into an abandoned building where the men shot him multiple times before escaping.

And yesterday, 18 year old Dean Smith, a labourer of New Market Oval in the parish, was sitting in front of a shop on Cook Street around midday, when a vehicle drove up.

Four men exited and opened fire hitting him multiple times. He died at hospital.

The identities of the other two people murdered have not yet been ascertained.