A fatal shooting at Avery Trace apartments Friday serves as another painful reminder to Port Arthur people of this year’s spate of local violence.

The victim’s identity was not revealed by late Friday. But people here either knew him or know someone like him. And we know that no one deserves to die in broad daylight by a gunshot.

The victim is the seventh homicide victim in a city where there were only five homicides in all of 2017. Five died in Port Arthur in January alone.

Every victim should be lamented; this latest victim was only 25 and that’s too young to die pointlessly. We hope that his death sparks renewed interest by all Port Arthur people in helping police solve violent crimes.

Mayor Derrick Ford Freeman said Friday he was saddened by this latest death as he has been by every violent act in the city. He said he has spoken with the City Council about possible steps our city might take to be more pro-active in stopping what seems to be a wave of ceaseless violence.

Truth is, though, police and city leaders may rachet up the pressure on violent criminals with additional officers and additional tools — the mayor mentioned sensors that might help them locate shooters more quickly — but those tools are expensive and this city is broke.

Freeman said Port Arthur might land some state or federal money to purchase the new equipment. That might be our best bet.

There are other factors, too, to consider in weighing the full effect of violence here. Police Chief Patrick Melvin said in a conversation last week that our city still suffers from the aftershocks of Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey, a traumatic event that wears down on the fragile nerves of local people.

Freeman said he fully agrees with the chief’s take on what’s behind the violence.

“People are frustrated,” he said. Long after people here fled their homes or were plucked from the rising waters, they are dealing not only with those traumatic events but also with uncertainty about their futures.

Almost a thousand people remain stranded in area hotel rooms, unable to return to their homes or find new ones. Unemployment remains high, nearly the highest in Texas.

Those types of worries weigh on people every day, all day.

“We have to find a way to put our arms around our city,” said Freeman, who was driven from his own home from the rising floodwaters.

The mayor is right. The storm is gone but the residual, emotional toll remains.

In Port Arthur, we’ve borne a hardship that weighs on us still. We are a community of survivors; let’s accent that word “community” in how we look at others.