KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of National Security, Dr Horace Chang, has expressed regret at the murder of 15-year-old David Cameron and 14-year-old Brittany Allen of Portmore in St Catherine.

“When young, high school students are killed, the loss to the nation cannot be quantified,” minister Chang said in a statement this evening.

Reports from the police are that the two teenagers were attacked and killed at a residence in Westchester in Portmore, St Catherine yesterday, March 7.

It is further reported, that the coast of St Catherine between Old Harbour and Portmore is one of the areas in the island where the guns for drugs trade is prevalent.

According to the minister, “the community has taken on a culture of violent crime.”

“The police continue to improve their response capabilities through the strengthening the Anti-Gang Task Force, to better manage areas of high crime and gang violence, to support the efforts of the police, we will increase expenditure to programmes that teach our youth life skills, discipline and patience,” the minister said.

The minister is appealing to all Jamaicans to refuse from resorting to violence as a method of resolving conflict.

“We must return to a nation where we are our brothers’ keepers and where life is considered sacred. Violence is never the solution,” he said.