NATCHEZ — A Natchez man was shot to death early Friday morning in the city limits, police officers said.

Police responded to a call at approximately 1:20 a.m. Friday about a man who had been shot several times.

The shooting occurred in the area of Brenham and Minor streets, Natchez Police Capt. Scott Frye said.

Upon arrival, officers found Cedric Anderson, 54, who was unresponsive and on his back in the road. Frye said Anderson’s body was almost in the middle of the intersection, bleeding in the roadway.

Anderson appeared to have suffered several gunshot wounds, Frye said, and was transported to Merit Health, where he was later pronounced dead.

Adams County Coroner James Lee said he would not disclose the location of the wounds, but that the fatal wound appeared to be in Anderson’s chest.

Lee said he arrived at the emergency room while doctors were still attempting to save Anderson’s life, but that those efforts were eventually unsuccessful. Lee said Anderson died before 2 a.m.

Anderson’s body was immediately delivered to the state crime lab in Jackson, Lee said, so that any remaining evidence could be properly gathered.

“In my opinion, we’re having an increase in shootings where someone dies,” Lee said. “It’s horrifying, because it affects everyone in the community.”

Frye said the Natchez Police Department does have a person of interest in the death and that witness statements indicate the fatal shooting might have been in response to an argument in which Anderson had been involved late Thursday night.

Frye said officers worked the scene of the shooting from just after 1 a.m. until 4 a.m. Friday and interviewed many people who were in the area.

Frye asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 601-442-5000.

Anyone calling Crime Stoppers should know, Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong said, that all the information given to police is anonymous.

“We want to ask for the public’s help in this case,” Armstrong said.

Crime Stoppers is offering a  $2,500 reward, Armstrong said, for anyone whose information leads to the arrest and conviction in this investigation.