Aamer Madhani and Steph Solis

USA TODAY

CHICAGO — Bernie Sanders called for an end to the city's surging violence during a rally late Monday night, hours after a shooting wounded three officers on the West Side.

"We got to stop this outrageous level of violence," Sanders said.

The Democratic presidential hopeful informed the crowd of the incident during his rally at The Auditorium Theater. He referenced the increase in violent incidents in a city that is off to the deadliest start of a year in nearly two decades.

Three officers were wounded Monday night while investigating alleged drug activity in the 11th District, about five miles from the Sanders rally. They were taken to Stroger Hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

The officers were looking into what appeared to be drug activity involving a man and woman on the 3700 block of West Polk Street, according to the police department. When the officers approached the two suspects, the male suspect ran off toward a dimly lit courtyard between two buildings.

The suspect shot at the officers, Guglielmi said. At least one officer returned fire, killing the suspect. Investigators recovered a weapon at the scene.

Chicago homicide toll highest since 1999

The female suspect was taken into police custody for questioning.

Guglielmi said the Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the incident, including specifics about the use of force. The officers, who were not identified, will be placed on routine administrative duty for 30 days as part of a new policy implemented by Interim Superintendent John Escalante.

The incident comes as the Chicago Police Department and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have faced increased the handling of a series of controversial police involved shootings, including the 2014 death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times by Officer Jason Van Dyke, and the December fatal shooting of 55-year-old Bettie Jones and 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier. Police have acknowledged that Officer Robert Rialmo accidentally shot Jones where firing at her neighbor LeGrier.

The U.S. Justice Department decided to open a civil rights investigation of the department's practices following the court-ordered release in November of the McDonald video, which spurred months of protests in the city and led to Emanuel forcing the resignation of police superintendent Garry McCarthy.

Emanuel on Monday evening visited with the officers at the hospital.

"Every day the dedicated men and women of the Chicago Police Department put themselves in danger so the rest of us can be safe," Emanuel said in a statement. "Tonight we were reminded of the dangers that our police face, and the bravery that they routinely display as three of our officers were shot in (the) line of duty."

Chicago had at least 95 homicides in the first two months of 2016, the deadliest start to a year since the late 1990s, according to police department data. The spike is attributed to increasing gang activity.

In February, the nation's third-largest city recorded at least 43 homicides after recording 52 homicides in January. It was the deadliest start of a year for the city since 1999, when the city recorded 643 murders.

Follow USA TODAY Chicago correspondent Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad