The death of a 68-year-old Doug Howie last week in a shooting on the city’s south side is concerning on many levels – not the least of which is the continuance of gun violence in Jamestown in a year when such violence is decreasing in other cities.

This could be a blip. Perhaps Jamestown is having an outlier of a year, or other cities’ lack of gun violence is an outlier. Perhaps both sets of statistics will regress to the mean.

What if it doesn’t?

One would think a state with gun laws that are among the most strict in the nation wouldn’t need to spend money trying to help cities reduce gun violence or declare a statewide emergency to deal with gun violence. As we mentioned a few short weeks ago in this space, the fact that a shooting victim and the shooter knew each other can be comforting and concerning at the same time. For most, there should be peace of mind knowing that, by and large, shootings aren’t purely random acts for most Jamestown residents. But the more shootings that take place, the greater the risk that people with guns who haven’t been trained to be a marksman are likely to miss their target.

That should make us all think.

Consider, too, that Jamestown has been involved in the Gun Involved Violence Elimination program for 10 years.

In fact, Jamestown was one of the original 10 cities to be included in the GIVE program when it was created in 2014. Jamestown is considered a Tier II GIVE participant, meaning the city’s focus is on reducing firearm-related violent crimes, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Of the other Tier II cities, Jamestown has seen the largest increase in shootings, shooting victims and firearm deaths.

Far from criticizing the GIVE program, we shudder to think where the city would be without it. This year could be worse without the additional resources the GIVE program has brought to Chautauqua County and Jamestown.

What has happened this year is proof that merely spending more money doesn’t guarantee results – as if the state’s education spending and resulting test results or the fact the New York Yankees haven’t won a World Series in 15 years isn’t enough proof of that unimpeachable truth.

Frankly, it’s hard to work up anger at the situation. The agencies that one would turn to for help are providing it. The state is investing money. Local police agencies and prosecutors are working together. Gun crimes and possession are already bail-eligible. There’s nothing to rail against, just a victim’s family to feel sorry for in a year that has seen too much violence.