Two more gun-related incidents occurred Monday making the month of January come to a close as violently as it began.

In the latest shootings, fortunately, no one was killed.

A 17-year-old Adams County teen was shot in the leg Monday, but did not appear to have life-threatening injuries.

In a seemingly unrelated case, another person reported a drive-by shooting, though investigators say they were not certain if the shooters were aiming at the man or just in the air.

Regardless, such flagrant disregard for life must be stopped.

In the case of the teenager who was shot, clearly a crime was committed, unless he shot himself in the leg. It’s against the law to shoot people.

Unfortunately, the young man was not immediately cooperating with the investigators.

That’s the problem that criminal investigators often face, this unwritten code in which no one wants to be a “snitch.” The problem is this code can have deadly consequences.

A gunshot to the leg could easily have struck an artery causing the victim to bleed out rapidly and die. Or the shooter could have aimed the weapon in a slightly different location and struck the heart or brain of the victim.

Let us be clear. Guns are not the problem here. Guns in the hands of criminals is a problem and, perhaps worse, people who are more interested in saving face and not being marked as a “snitch” are a problem. They are a big, deadly problem that our community needs to address before more lives are lost and more lives are ruined.