BALTIMORE — Baltimore reached what its police commissioner called a sad milestone during the weekend, as the city’s homicide total for the year surpassed 300.

Only hours after Commissioner Kevin Davis announced that the city had recorded its 300th homicide, another name was added to that tally.

“This challenging moment shall pass if we reject blame and embrace the hope, dreams and promise of a great American city,” Commissioner Davis said. “Baltimore will win again, 2015 will not define us, and the nation will once again see our city for the determination that has long defined us.”

The homicide rate in Baltimore began to skyrocket in May after a period of civil unrest accompanying the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died from injuries suffered in police custody. The city had 42 homicides that month.