ALBANY — City officials and anti-violence organizations on Sunday begged city residents to help them stop the recent outburst of violence in the city.

Four people were shot in the early morning hours Sunday, bringing the total number of shootings to 13 since Tuesday, July 3.

At a rally held in the Arbor Hill neighborhood Sunday afternoon, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan grew visibly emotional as she asked for the community to help stop the violence.

One man is dead as a result of the violence, and three of the victims from a shooting Thursday were under the age of 17.

"I'm here to tell you, I need your help," she said. "I'm here ready to do whatever it takes. We stand ready to do whatever it takes."

Jamil Hood, the former Green Tech basketball coach and dean of students, helped organized the rally, which attracted about 100 people.

"We were praying to get some hope, we were praying to get some viable solutions," Hood said after the rally, saying the city needed to pull together and start healing.

Albany police have continued to characterize the victims as being uncooperative in providing information.

One of the men shot early Sunday morning, who was driven to Albany Medical Center Hospital by someone before police arrived on Orange Street, is in critical condition.

Albany police said three men were shot at Third Street and North Swan Street around 1 a.m. Sunday. All three have non-life threatening injuries.

A 21-year-old man was shot in the torso and a 31-year-old male was shot in the arm and were found at the scene.

A third victim, a 28-year-old man who was transported to Albany Memorial Hospital before police arrival, is believed to have been shot during the same incident. He was shot in the arm and torso.

At 2:20 a.m. Sunday on Orange Street, police arrived after a call for shots fired. The 21-year-old, who is the one who is in critical condition, had gunshot wounds to the torso.

The violence follows the shooting death early Saturday morning of Elijah Cancer, a man who years before had been swept up in gun violence, but who was now working with an outreach group to stop such shootings. He was discovered at Teunis Street between Second and Third Avenues around 3 a.m. Saturday. Another man, age 31, was also shot in the arm at that location.

Albany police said in a news release Sunday morning that they do not know yet if all the shootings that have happened are related.

Jerome Brown, director of Albany 518 SNUG, called Cancer an irreplaceable worker for the group's mission. Trinity Alliance, the nonprofit group that runs 518 SNUG, called together members of its organization and the community Sunday to speak about Cancer's death and the recent increase in violence.

"He was killed doing what he dedicated himself to, stopping the violence that has claimed too many lives," he said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. "His loss is a major blow to the community."

Last month Cancer had been named the organization's employee of the year for his work and had been mentoring nearly a dozen "high-risk" individuals, Brown said. He was shot while trying to break up a fight around 3 a.m. on Saturday.

Brown said, as far as he knows, there is no common thread among the recent shootings.

Albany County Legislator Wanda Willingham said at the Trinity press conference that the community needs to be more aggressive in pushing back against those committing the violence.

"It's a handful of people that are doing this," she said. "We are no longer going to stand by and let them tear down families, taking away children's' fathers, taking away the safety of the community."

In response to the recent shootings, Victory Christian Church said it would offer $200 to city residents who turned in illegal handguns. The church is also offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction in Cancer's case.

The city has had 35 shootings and seven homicides this year, compared to eight homicides total in 2017. Two of the homicides were stabbings, including the stabbing death Thursday of 29-year-old Rashaun Byrd on Orange Street, not far from the early morning shooting Sunday.

Albany police did not release additional information Sunday on what might be behind the jump in shootings. Spokesman Steve Smith said police need the public's help to identify those behind the shootings and that if people are aware of someone with an illegal gun they should notify police.

Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to call the Detective Division at 518-462-8039. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online at the Capital Region Crimestoppers website or by downloading the free P3 Tips mobile app.

Tips that lead to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,500.