WHITE CENTER, WA — The King County Sheriff's Office is responding to recent shootings in the White Center area by boosting patrols. Four people were wounded in two separate shootings on Sunday and Monday.

Although the two recent shootings do not appear to be related, the sheriff's office acknowledged that there's been an increase in violent crime in the White Center area. "The patrols will be random and at different times of the day to increase visibility in areas where violent crime is likely to occur," King County Sheriff Mitzi G. Johanknecht said in a statement.

The latest shooting happened on Monday morning in the Top Hat neighborhood. A 27-year-old man was shot in the shoulder just before 8 a.m. by a man who he knew, the sheriff's office reported. Police did not immediately know why the shooting occurred. At around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, three men were shot outside a hookah lounge along 17th Avenue Southwest. The victims took themselves to Harborview Medical Center, and one of them, a 30-year-old man, was still in critical condition on Monday afternoon. A 27-year-old man was in serious conditions, and at 28-year-old man was treated and released for a gunshot wound to the leg.