The Port Gibson morning had hardly awoken when the sound of gunshots pierced the calm.

In less than an hour, three people were targeted. One shot and killed. A second seriously wounded. The third narrowly escaped unscathed.

Suddenly the community was ripped apart, apparently at the hands of a disgruntled former county employee.

Whenever such tragedy strikes, the survivors struggle to understand the &8220;why&8221; behind these senseless acts.

Apparently, Friday&8217;s deadly shooting rampage was the culmination of years of anger and frustration. Day after day the issue festered, just beneath the surface, the hatred consuming every thought of the man who is accused of pulling the trigger. &8220;He just never got over it,&8221; Claiborne County Sheriff Frank Davis said of the alleged shooter.

The &8220;it&8221; was the alleged shooter&8217;s termination after allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace arose.

Nearly each week, we read about someone in the United States who became fed up with some circumstance and turned to violence as the solution. Several studies have shown that after the fact, co-workers, relatives and friends of the perpetrators recognized warning signs of what was to come.

Sadly, all too often these warnings are dismissed as merely harmless venting.

Violent acts such as Friday&8217;s shootings serve as a warning, too, that threats &8212; no matter how veiled or seemingly innocuous &8212; should be taken seriously.