Shootings have become way too common in Natchez and Adams County.

Some of the recent shootings are part of an ongoing retaliatory battle between factions of rival youths who live in apartment complexes in the city, law enforcement officials say.

Other shootings — mostly caused by domestic disputes — occur too frequently as well.

Regardless of the causes, the results are the same when someone gets a gun and decides shooting someone is the way to resolve their problems.

Justice, however, Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong and other law enforcement officials will tell you, is best handled through the proper channels.

Saturday night’s shootings that killed one person and injured two others, law enforcement officials say, is believed to be yet another retaliation for an Oct. 1, 2017, shooting in which several men rode around town in the back of a pickup truck shooting at different locations and killing a man who was sitting in his car.

Earlier this month, nine suspects in the 2017 case were formally charged and are awaiting trial.

Armstrong said the case was thoroughly investigated. All the perpetrators have been arrested and formally charged and any retaliatory measures against people believed to have been involved in that incident are likely based on bad information.

Armstrong said he believes people who are carrying out retaliatory shootings from that case are acting on misinformation and noted that just because someone says they believe another person participated in a crime doesn’t make it true.

Nonetheless, Armstrong said he encourages anyone who has information to the contrary to contact the Natchez Police Department or Crimes Stoppers so the investigation can be properly handled.

Armstrong ought to know. He has a lifelong career of investigating allegations and discerning facts from misinformation in cases of people accused of crimes. It is a business best left to the professionals.

That’s why Armstrong is adamant in asking members of the community to come forward to law enforcement if they have information that a crime may have been committed.

Law enforcement authorities know how to gather the proper evidence and make a case that can be handled through the courts.

Armstrong also said his department is aware of hotspot neighborhoods for potential crime in the city with the ongoing retaliatory shootings and his officers patrol those areas throughout the day, 24-seven.

Officers, Armstrong noted, had patrolled the neighborhood 15 minutes before a shooting that killed one and injured two in the afternoon of Sept. 15, and his officers will continue to patrol those areas.

The best solution to the problem, however, Armstrong said, is for residents to report suspected crime and activities and for families to communicate and to be involved with their children and loved ones. If something doesn’t seem right, address it and call the proper authorities when necessary.

If you have information to report on a crime or suspected crime, call the Natchez Police Department at 601-445-3554 or if you need anonymity, call Crime Stoppers at 601-442-5000.

It is time for the cycle of violence to end.

Scott Hawkins is editor of The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at 601-445-3540 or scott.hawkins@natchezdemocrat.com.