After remaining relatively flat for much of the year, the number of people killed in Los Angeles surged in August, leaving police scrambling to rein in the violence.

Through Saturday, the city recorded a nearly 7% increase in homicides — which amounts to 12 more killings — since the start of the year, compared with the same time period in 2014, according to LAPD data.

Thirty-nine people were killed in L.A. last month, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said, making it the deadliest August the city has seen since 2007, when 41 people were killed.

Read the full report by Kate Mather and Nicole Santa Cruz here: L.A. homicides, after big jump in August, are up 7% for 2015

See all city of Los Angeles homicides in 2015

See all L.A. County homicides in 2015