The Little Rock Police Department said Monday that two weekend homicides in different parts of the capital city are unrelated.
The department also said that of the seven homicides in September, arrests have been made in five cases.
"These incidents are disheartening to our department just like they are to members of the community," said Interim Police Chief Wayne Bewley in a written statement. "The Homicide Unit is working swiftly to solve the remaining cases to bring the person[s] responsible to justice. We have been focused on proactive policing and comprehensive crime prevention efforts to disrupt crime trends.
"Through our investigations of this month's homicides, none of them appear to be related. We want to reassure Little Rock residents that our patrol divisions and detectives are working diligently to solve these cases."
The statement comes at a time when the police, the city and the mayor's office have received criticism from some people for not communicating enough with the public. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. and top police brass began to hold news conferences to discuss public safety, some of them as frequently as once a week.
Then, on June 8, in public statements emphasizing there would be more communication, Bewley committed to keeping the public better informed about violent crime. He was then an assistant police chief.
"We need to do a better job and we can do a better job," said Bewley at the news conference in June.
Monday's statement from Bewley followed two fatal shootings over the weekend in southwest Little Rock -- one shooting at a convenience store/gas station near the 8800 block of Baseline Road on Sunday morning and the other at a fast food restaurant at 1300 John Barrow Road on Saturday morning.
Stephon Dillard, 27, has been charged with capital murder in connection with the Saturday homicide, according to police. No arrest has been made in the Sunday morning homicide.