The week got off to a bad start with a drive by shooting that killed a young man in Natchez on Sunday.

While it seems law enforcement have made a dent in the number of murders last year with increased patrols, surveillance cameras and local offices of federal agencies, it seems the shootings persist.

Fortunately not all of the shootings end in killings.

So far this year, we’ve seen video of a car pulling up to another car in downtown Natchez and shooting approximately 15 shots before turning the wrong way on to one-way Wall Street.

We had a juvenile go to an acquaintance’s house at 4 a.m. and shoot him through the door after the two had allegedly been arguing via text messages.

And those were all in the last few weeks.

In looking back at last year’s news coverage, Natchez and Adams County had at least 23 separate shooting incidents in 2019.

And those are just the ones The Natchez Democrat reported about and do not include several other shootings The Democrat did report about that took place across the river in Concordia Parish, including the shooting of a Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Deputy.

The shootings in Natchez and Adams County began with the Jan. 23 murder of local artist James Henry Williams.

Below is a rundown of the other shootings The Natchez Democrat reported on during 2019, some led to arrests, others are still open:

*Jan. 26 a drive by shooting injured a man on Watts Avenue.

* Feb. 23 a shooting injured a 5-year-old.

* March 1 a double homicide occurred in Adams County that killed two volunteer firefighters. Suspect arrested

* April 4 a man fired multiple shots into a group of people on Gayosa Drvie in Natchez. Suspect was arrested.

* April 20 an accidental fatal shooting claimed the life of a woman after a man in a garage on Morgantown Road fired a gun and the bullet travelled through the walls and killed the woman who was in the house.

* April 29 a man shot another man in the back at the Holiday Apartments. The suspect was arrested.

* May 14 a man was shot at the Cambridge Heights complex. Suspect was arrested.

* June 1 drive by shooting in which a man driving along Martin Luther King Jr. Street was shot by someone in a passing car.

* June 24 and June 25 two separate shooting incidents in the vicinity of Ingram Circle.

* June 25 shooting in which a person was shot in the lower torso while standing in the parking lot of D&Z Lounge. Suspect was arrested.

* July 8 shooting in the Kenny Graves Subdivision of Adams County. Three suspects were arrested.

* July 21 drive by shooting on Old Washington Road. Suspect was arrested.

* Aug. 23 a man was shot as he drove along Inez Street in Natchez.

* Aug. 27 a man was shot as he drove along John R. Junkin at Seargeant S. Prentiss Drive.

* Aug. 30 shooting at Holiday Apartments injured at least three people.

* Sept. 2 a man was arrested for shooting a gun inside the city limits.

* Sept. 6 a man shot a woman and killed a man in Adams County. Suspect was arrested.

* Oct. 4 shooting killed Scottie Rodgers. Three suspects have been arrested.

* Oct. 20 a man was shot in the torso on Watts Avenue.

* Nov. 23 a Natchez woman was shot in the back in Grove Acres subdivision in Adams County.

* Dec. 1 a Natchez woman shot into a dwelling on Seargent S. Prentiss Drive. Suspect was arrested.

Put the guns down, people. It is time for a ceasefire.

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