A 17-year-old girl found herself shot in the leg this week. The circumstances around the shooting may still be in doubt, but another teenager in Selma has a hole in her body not placed there by the hand of God.

Far too many times this year we have taken to this space and written this violent trend must stop. We have said something must be done and that one group cannot find a solution alone.

The violence — specifically the gun violence — in this area is not a black issue or a white issue. It is not a poor or rich issue. It is not an issue of those without work or those with work.

It is an us issue.

Our fear is the headlines we publish are becoming more expected than shocking, that the stories we write are becoming a diary of daily life in our neighborhoods than a call to action.

Our fear is this community becoming desensitized by the violence and accepting it as something that is just going to happen here in Selma.

Our community rallies around events of our history like no other community its size in the world. We celebrate our historic milestones such as Bloody Sunday and the Battle of Selma and honor our heritage with events such as Pilgrimage, but where are the rallies, the parades and the support for putting an end to this violence?

We know there are groups working behind the scenes trying to make a difference. And they are. It is not their efforts we question.

Selma’s mayor, police chief, council members and police officers are doing their part. Why aren’t the rest of us doing our part?