The news about crime in Brookhaven hasn’t been positive lately. Not long after we learned that the police department has seen an increase in call activity in 2015, two murders were reported.

Brookhaven Police Chief Bobby Bell said his department has been more active in the past six months than in the past 33 years he’s been on the force.

“Our first six months of this year has been a challenging six months. We’ve had some things happen in Brookhaven that hasn’t happened before, such as a double homicide that caused sad feelings throughout the entire community,” Bell said. “For a lot of officers this was their first time experiencing something like that, but they handled it as best as any other department.”

Bell was referencing the March shooting involving the death of a father, Jermaine Sims Sr., 31, and his young daughter.

On Sunday, a man convicted of manslaughter in a 2008 fatal shooting was shot and killed. Then on Monday night, another murder was reported. As of this writing, details on the second crime were few.

Two murders in two days can be unnerving for a city — and for good reason. Bell and his department are doing their part to reduce criminal activity in the city — but the community needs to do its part as well.

“We do realize that the only way we can make this community safe is if we continue to have community support,” Bell said. “And we also need community eyes.”

If you see something suspicious or know that a crime has occurred, call the police. If you have information about a crime, come forward and talk. Only when the community is invested in protecting residents will we see this year’s trend reverse.