CHICAGO -- One of the most violent years in Chicago history ended Sunday with 762 homicides, the most in two decades in the city and more than in New York and Los Angeles combined.
The nation's third-largest city also saw 1,100 more reports of shootings than it did in 2015, according to statistics released by the Chicago Police Department. The numbers underline a story of bloodshed that has put Chicago at the center of a national debate about gun violence.
The data released Sunday cap a steady stream of news accounts of weekends ending with dozens of shootings and of monthly death tolls that hadn't been seen in years. The increase in homicides compared with 2015, when 485 were reported, is the largest spike in 60 years.
Police and city officials have lamented the flood of illegal guns into the city. Police recovered 8,300 illegal guns in 2016, a 20 percent increase from the previous year.
The bulk of the deaths and shootings, which jumped from 2,426 in 2015 to 3,550 last year, occurred in only five neighborhoods on the city's South and West sides, all poor and predominantly black areas where gangs are most active. Police said the shootings in those areas generally weren't random, with more than 80 percent of the victims having previously been identified by police as more susceptible because of their gang ties or past arrests.
The city has scrambled to address the violence. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced last year that 1,000 officers would be added to the police department. At the same time, police officials have been trying to determine why homicides and shootings suddenly surged in 2016. They began climbing in 2014 after two years of historically low totals -- about 400 homicides in both 2012 and 2013, down from 943 in 1992.
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a news conference Sunday that Chicago was among many U.S. cities that have seen a sharp increase in violence, including in attacks on police. He also said it's becoming clearer to criminals that they have little to fear from the criminal justice system.
"In Chicago, we just don't have a deterrent to pick up a gun," he said. "Any time a guy stealing a loaf of bread spends more time pre-trial in jail than a gun offender, something is wrong."
He noted that 2016 was the first full year since the city was forced in November 2015 to release video of the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was black and shot 16 times by a white police officer. The video cost former Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy his job, sparked protests around the city, and led to federal and state investigations of the department.
It also left Johnson with the task of trying to restore public trust in what appeared to be a weakened police force, a perception that was only buttressed by a drop in the number of arrests in 2016.
While the police department has cited several factors for the declining numbers, including a concerted effort not to make minor drug arrests and to focus on gun violence, Johnson acknowledged that officers have become more cautious -- in part out of fear of becoming the next "viral video."
That, he said, has "emboldened" criminals.
"Criminals watch TV, pay attention to the media," he said. "They see an opportunity to commit nefarious activity."
During the first six hours of 2017, three people were killed and 15 others were wounded.
Two men were killed in the year's first fatal shooting, which took place early Sunday in the city's Uptown neighborhood on the North Side.
A 38-year-old man was shot in the chest and the right leg, police said. A second man, who police said is between 35 and 40 years old, was shot on his right side.
Both men were taken to a hospital where they were later pronounced dead.
Also early Sunday, a 39-year-old man was shot to death in the West Garfield Park neighborhood.
Officers found the man on a sidewalk. He had been shot several times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The last homicide of 2016 occurred Saturday afternoon as a 24-year-old man was driving in the South Austin neighborhood. Police said the man's vehicle was sideswiped by a Mercedes-Benz. The driver of the Mercedes got out of the vehicle and an argument started, police said.
At some point, the Mercedes driver pulled out a gun and shot the man in the left side. The victim was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Information for this article was contributed by Deanese Williams-Harris, Rosemary Regina Sobol and Elvia Malagon of the Chicago Tribune; and by Don Babwin of The Associated Press.
A Section on 01/02/2017