It’s time to take our community back, restoring it to the peaceful place we all love to call home.

But to do that, we have to be willing to get involved, sharing information that will bring those responsible for a rash of violent crimes to justice, putting them behind locked doors where they belong.

Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton and his investigators have made an impassioned plea for that help; we echo that sentiment, knowing that there are those within our community — friends, acquaintances, even family members of suspects — who have knowledge of those responsible for recent home invasions and robberies, one which has left a 4-year-old little boy on life support.

Those people need to come forward, and we are begging them to do so now before another person is harmed, threatened or victimized in any way.

Thornton is correct — we have a responsibility as citizens of this county to come forward with information we may have that could help resolve any crime, particularly those of late which have seemingly targeted seasonal farm workers and have been violent in nature.

Those in the Hispanic community have an obligation to share information as well. As the sheriff reminded during a press conference Monday, we are all in this together. We can either make this community a better place to live or we can allow those who’d rather bring terror and mayhem to our residents take control.

Although this newspaper may not be able to reach non-English speaking residents, we are imploring those who are bilingual to share our pleas with them, hoping to strike a chord of togetherness that will inspire them to come forward with information they, too, may have that can help their friends and neighbors, perhaps even themselves.

The key here is coming forward and providing law enforcement with the help they need to solve these crimes.Staying quiet only ensures that more mayhem will follow because, as the sheriff emphasized Monday, until they are stopped, they will continue to reign down terror at every turn.

Is that what we want for this community? For our neighbors? For our friends? For our families?

While it is far easier not to get involved, it isn’t the right thing to do. Withholding information is against the law and, in many ways, makes the person with unreported knowledge nearly as guilty as those committing the crimes.

Thornton said people talk. He’s right. Criminals and their friends talk, brag even, and they share information that, if provided to the correct individuals, can help end this latest rash of crimes that needs to be stopped immediately.

It’s true of those crimes that are seemingly targeting Hispanics and it is true of other crimes that have taken place over the last few weeks.

People have been killed and injured, robbed and threatened. It’s time all that stopped. But it cannot stop unless we take the first and right step — offering up information we may have that can lead officers to those responsible.