CHICAGO — One of the most violent years in Chicago history ended Sunday with a sobering tally: 762 homicides, the most in two decades and more than New York and Los Angeles combined.

The nation’s third-largest city also saw 1,100 more shooting incidents than it did in 2015, according to statistics released by the Chicago Police Department that underlined a story of bloodshed that has put Chicago at the center of a national dialogue about gun violence.

The numbers released Sunday are staggering, even for those following the steady news accounts of weekends ending with dozens of shootings and monthly death tolls that hadn’t been seen in years. The increase in 2016 homicides compared to 2015, when 485 were reported, is the largest spike in 60 years.

The bulk of the deaths and shooting incidents, 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 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.

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 figure out why homicides and shootings, which began climbing the year before, suddenly surged.

Associated Press