Local officials often ponder the retail competition and other factors that could negatively impact Lawrence’s downtown, but there is nothing that could spur the area’s demise quicker than a perception – or the reality – that downtown Lawrence isn’t safe.

That concern is driven home by the shooting incident that killed one man and critically injured another early Sunday in the 1000 block of Massachusetts Street. City and downtown officials must act quickly to curb what seems to be an increasingly dangerous nighttime atmosphere in the city’s central retail area.

Sunday’s incident, unfortunately, was not the first sign of trouble downtown. In a two-week period last month, Lawrence police seized three guns from cars parked in a lot in the 700 block of New Hampshire Street. In early December, a woman reported she was raped by two men in a parking lot in the 800 block of New Hampshire Street after leaving a bar in the area between 1:45 a.m. and 2 a.m.

It’s true that all of these incidents occurred in the early morning hours, a time when many residents and visitors to Lawrence already choose to avoid downtown. The atmosphere on New Hampshire and Massachusetts streets gets pretty scary around the time bars are closing and patrons are heading home.

Some observers may find comfort in thinking such violent incidents can only occur after midnight when people who aren’t looking for trouble should be safely in their homes. Or they may find comfort in the fact most of these incidents involved people from out of town. (The woman who reported the rape and both men shot Sunday reportedly live outside Lawrence.)

Such attitudes offer false security. Lawrence can’t afford to keep its head in the sand on this issue. Whether it’s happening at 2 a.m. or 2 p.m. and whether it involves a local person or someone from out of town, Lawrence can’t allow this situation to persist. Downtown Lawrence business people should be marching on City Hall insisting that measures be taken to beef up police patrols and monitor the activities of bars that seem to be a focal point for the trouble.

The city must enforce existing ordinances and pass whatever additional restrictions are needed to require local bars to run operations that don’t encourage trouble or attract troublemakers. If that means pulling liquor licenses or requiring downtown bars to close earlier, the city shouldn’t hesitate to take those actions.

Lawrence looks at its downtown area as one of the city’s gems. Officials constantly worry about whether additional retail or entertainment venues in other parts of town will hurt downtown. None of that will matter if the current violent trend downtown is allowed to continue or worsen. If people hesitate to come downtown after dark to eat dinner, see a movie or attend an event at the Lawrence Arts Center, the area will suffer a decline that will be hard to reverse.

Downtown merchants, city officials and law enforcement can’t afford to take a wait-and-see approach. The problem is bad now and will only get worse if it isn’t addressed.