It was a time of mourning in Florence County, S.C.

It should also be a time of mourning across the nation.

We are referring to the shootings Oct. 3 of seven officers and deputies in the South Carolina community during a single incident. Reports from CNN and other news outlets indicate a gunman opened fire with high-powered weaponry on officers serving a search warrant at an upscale home located about 40 minutes from Myrtle Beach.

Veteran Florence Police Department Officer Terrence Carraway – who gave his entire career to serving the citizens of his community – was murdered by the gunman. Six other officers were shot. Witnesses said Carraway, in heroic fashion, was killed trying to help his fellow officers as they took gunfire. The search warrant was being served while authorities investigated a report that a man at the home had abused a foster child.

To put this in the proper perspective, these officers were attempting to pursue justice on behalf of a victimized child. They were doing righteous work only to be targeted. Carraway gave his life for such a noble purpose.

Fox News reports at least 67 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty so far in 2018. In 2017, 129 officers were killed. In 2016 a record number of officers, 135, were killed.

Just a quick check of recent events shows the magnitude of the lethal violence officers face on an almost daily basis. In Mississippi, two officers were slain, allegedly by a man repeatedly paroled from prison and with a long criminal history. Last month, an officer was shot to death while responding to a seemingly routine disturbance call at an auto parts store in Sacramento, Calif. Again, the alleged offender had a felony history involving weaponry. A deputy in Kansas was killed by, you guessed it, a gunman with a lengthy criminal history. In Georgia, a police chief was killed by a criminal suspect fleeing authorities. In Fort Worth, Texas, a detective was ambushed and shot in the head while conducting surveillance related to a robbery spree. In California, a corrections officer died from injuries suffered in an attack by multiple inmates.

Obviously, the proliferation of guns among felons and convicts is a huge part of the equation. Another part is the hatred a small segment of our society has toward the rule of law.

We believe our society needs to take a much more aggressive approach on keeping guns away from criminals. We also believe America needs to invest in our criminal justice system – specifically more prisons – to lock up gun-toting repeat offenders for good. If you are violent, robbing people with weapons or breaking into homes, you go to prison for good. There is a pattern with these types of offenders. Robbery, arrest, conviction, released on parole, repeat.

We are thankful for the fearless work from law enforcement and believe, in our view, we can do a much better job of appreciating the profound dangers our law enforcement officers face every day. But it is more than just appreciation that is required. Reform of the system is what is truly needed to put the violent, dangerous offenders away.