That's the most homicides since Christmas Day last year, when eight people were killed in the city.



Homicides had been lagging behind last year, which had been the deadliest in two decades. But by Wednesday evening, the city had recorded its 99th homicide two days earlier than it did last year, according to Tribune data.



Like last year, the Harrison police district on the West Side has seen the most homicides: 16 this year compared to 12 this time last year, according to Tribune data.



The Austin district, also on the West Side, is close behind with 11 homicides. Last year, it wasn't even among the top five at this time, Tribune data shows.



The next three districts are Ogden on the Near West Side, 10, Englewood on the South Side, 9, and Calumet on the South Side, 6. The Near North district had no homicides this time last year but has recorded two this year, according to Tribune data.



While homicides had been down most of this year, the number of people shot has been higher almost from the beginning. As of Wednesday evening, at least 495 people had been shot in Chicago, nearly 60 more than this time last year, according to Tribune data.



Statistics from the Chicago Police Department are lower because it does not include shootings on city expressways, police-involved shootings and incidents police consider non-criminal, like justified shootings.



But even the department's numbers show this year is starting off as violently as last year. The department reported 379 shooting incidents this year, compared to 365 this time last year. It counted 91 homicides as of Wednesday night, compared to 93 the year before.



On Thursday night, President Donald Trump tweeted about Chicago violence, a frequent subject for him. Citing the seven fatal shootings Wednesday, he wrote: "What is going on there - totally out of control. Chicago needs help!"