At least 50 people have been shot with five people dying from their wounds in Chicago over the weekend.

The total number of people shot in the city this year recently passed 1,800 with authorities describing it as like a 'war zone'.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, this weekend 18 people were shot on Friday evening, 23 on Saturday, and 21 were shot early Sunday.

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Police work the scene where two people were shot near the intersection of North Eldridge Avenue and North Drake Avenue on Sunday

A protracted violent spree from Saturday night until Sunday afternoon saw 18 people shot in total

While a single shooting Friday injured seven people, including a three-year-old boy in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side.

Three people were shot on Saturday night while attending a back to school 'peace picnic' in a playground in Seward Park in the city's north side.

Witnesses said the situation turned ugly after a group of 'intoxicated' men turned up and started arguing with people at the picnic.

'It's senseless and should have never happened,' event organizer Raymond Hatcher said.

'We were doing well. Everything was going swell and then a group of guys who were not associated with us, came to the event intoxicated.'

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (pictured) has been branded 'corrupt' and 'part of the problem in Chicago' over the murder crisis

Detectives investigate a shooting where multiple people were shot on August 5 in a weekend which saw 30 people shot in a single 24 hour period

Earlier this month, the city saw 12 people shot dead and 59 injured over the first weekend of August as President Donald Trump blamed mayor Rahm Emanuel's lack of leadership for the crisis.

'We must strengthen community bonds with law enforcement, including cities like Chicago that have been an absolute and total disaster,' he said.

'That's bad stuff happening. And probably, I guess, you have to take it from the leadership, it's called bad leadership.

'He's corrupt. He's part of the problem in Chicago,' Trump said. 'Failure on jobs. Failure on taxes. He's got to go.'

Despite its reputation, Chicago doesn't have the highest murder rate in the US which is in St. Louis at 64.9 people per 100,000.

Atlanta, Washington, Oakland, Memphis and Kansas City all have higher violent crime rates. But Chicago's total number of killings has been higher than both Los Angeles and New York.

Chicago Police officers attend an outdoor roll call in the North Lawndale neighborhood after a shootout on August 11

Extra police are being deployed to Chicago after 12 people were killed and dozens more injured. Pictured: Two women cry outside the Stroger Hospital in Chicago on Sunday