Police believe that an early Tuesday morning shooting that ended with one man being shot in the chest and another grazed by a bullet may have been retaliation from previous shootings.

Natchez Police Commander Jerry Ford said three men were sitting on a car in the area of 634 Maple St. at about 1:30 a.m. when someone shot at them with what was apparently an automatic weapon.

The suspect who was shot in the chest was transported to Merit Health Natchez and later airlifted to a Baton Rouge hospital, Ford said.

“He was stable when he left here,” he said.

The shots were heard and frightened residents on North Pearl Street, Linton Avenue and North Union streets, according to posts on social media.

Ford said police have no suspects yet but the shooting is under investigation. He said .223 and 5.56 shell casings were recovered at the scene.

“Those indicate the shots came from a big rifle like an automatic rifle,” he said.

Ford said he thinks the shooting was related to others that have occurred recently.

“Right now we think it might be sort of a little retaliation going on from some of these previous shootings we have had,” Ford said.

Anyone with knowledge or any information about the shooting is asked to contact the Natchez Police Department at 601-445-5565 or to call Crime Stoppers at 888-4423-5001. All calls and information provided to Crime Stoppers remain confidential.