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NATCHEZ — Adams County District Attorney Tim Cotton expressed outrage at recent acts of gun violence, one of which resulted in the death of a 61-year-old man who had been on his porch “painting his house, not a harm to anybody.”

After two unrelated shooting incidents between Sunday and Monday, one of them fatal, Cotton called his first press conference as a District Attorney at 3 p.m. Tuesday on the steps of Natchez City Hall to address his anger and frustration.

Cotton talked about “the frustration and the anger” he has felt since the shootings. In no community should a 61-year-old man enjoying the later stages of his life — painting a house at 2 p.m. when schools are getting ready to be dismissed and when children are running around playing” fear for his life.

Cotton called on the community to take action and for anyone who knows anything about the case to speak up.

“We need the community. We need the help. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to law enforcement, if you are worried about putting yourself out there, call Crime Stoppers. If you can’t do that, call my office. If you’re worried about calling somebody’s office. This is your office. Our door is open. Come see us.”

The Crime Stoppers number is 888-442-5001.

At approximately 2 p.m. on Veteran’s Day, police discovered 61-year-old James Mitchell deceased on his screened-in front porch at 841 Martin Luther King Jr. St. after he received a single gunshot to the head.

Natchez Police Chief Cal Green said Tuesday police have still been unable to determine where the shot came from, whether it was from outside the home or inside.

“We are working on trying to find leads and checking for houses that may have had camera footage,” Green said.

On Monday after the shooting, Green said police were unaware of anyone who might want to harm Mitchell.

“He was a quiet, happy person and didn’t have an issue with anyone who we know of,” she said.

At approximately 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, another shooting happened on St. Catherine Street in the vicinity of Holy Family Catholic Church that injured a woman who was sitting in a parked car with a man. Two people reportedly walked up to the vehicle and shot into it, leaving the woman injured in her leg and buttocks. The man was uninjured.

Green said while it’s unusual to have back-to-back shootings, the two are unrelated. Officials said currently no evidence supports or disproves gang violence to be the cause of either shooting.

Green said Tuesday morning that the woman was still in a Jackson hospital for treatment and that police were going there to interview her.

No suspects have been named in either of these cases as investigations are ongoing.

Cotton said in times like these, most people want to know the facts.

“Each time something happens, I read the comments, I listen and I understand that everybody wants to point a finger somewhere … but we don’t have the facts,” he said. “Make no mistake about it, law enforcement is not behind me today as a showing of force. … These ladies and gentlemen are selfless. … When you pick up the phone and call 911, you understand that they’re at your mercy as much as you are at theirs, because they’re relying on what you can tell them.”

Cotton’s message to the community also came with a firm warning “for those who think that they’re above the law.”

“Just because you haven’t been apprehended or because you haven’t been named, it doesn’t mean we don’t know who you are,” Cotton said. “Quite frankly, you just don’t know how much we know about you. That’s a promise.”