Maybe it’s my imagination, but there seems to be a real uptick in the number of shootings in the city over the past few days. Consider this:

• Last night at midnight there was a report of shots being fired on Alma Street in Centralville
• Yesterday afternoon police rushed to Jewett Street in Centralville after a report of 3 men with guns walking down the street
• Sunday afternoon on Crosby Street in the Back Central neighborhood there was a drive-by shooting with bullets striking parked cars and penetrating at least one apartment
• Saturday night four shots were fired into a house on Gates Treet in the lower Highlands
• Early Saturday morning a man was shot on Merrimack Street near City Hall
• Although not involving guns, two teenage brothers were stabbed on Bridge Street early Sunday morning

What’s going on?  By any measure this is an unacceptably high level of dangerous activity.  How long until some innocent bystander is killed?  I certainly don’t blame the police who seem to be doing everything possible to stop these types of incidents.  And it’s not limited to Lowell.  On this morning’s early news on WBZ radio, there was a constant flow of shootings from communities across eastern Massachusetts.  I don’t have any theories about what’s going on.  Maybe it’s been like this all summer only past incidents have slipped beneath the public radar.  Whatever the case, we should all start paying attention.