It was appalling to learn this past weekend that Chattanooga had suffered its ninth homicide of the year.
Obviously, one death from criminal violence is deplorable, but nine violent deaths in the city in less than three and a half months is shocking.
Most recently, Aaron L. Burton, 39, was found shot to death in his Windsor Street home. The circumstances leading to the slaying are uncertain, but Burton himself had pleaded guilty in 1996 to a charge of second-degree murder.
Besides the homicides, nearly two dozen people had been injured by gunfire in Chattanooga as of April 8.
Clearly, the greatest concern is and should be for the innocent people – including two Chattanooga police officers – who have been killed or wounded, as well as for others who may be threatened by reckless or malicious violence.