A rise in the murder rate in U.S. cities in 2016 can largely be attributed to Chicago, according to a new report that examined crime trends across the country.
The report, released Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, found the murder rate rose last year by an estimated 7.8 percent across the country and an estimated 14 percent in the country's 30 largest cities. The latter is up from a 2015 urban murder increase of 13.2 percent.
National increases seen over the past two years were "highly concentrated," according to the study, and more than half of the 2015 increase in urban murders was caused by Baltimore, Chicago and Washington D.C.
In 2016, one city contributed the most to the rise in urban murders: Chicago.
"Chicago alone was responsible for 43.7 percent of the rise in urban murders in 2016," the study finds.
Chicago Police News Affairs did not comment on the study, saying the Brennan Center, and not the Chicago Police Department, did the analysis.
The study notes that "it is important to remember the relatively small base from which the percentage increases are calculated."
Because the national murder rate fell by about half between 1991 and 2016, marking historic lows, murder rate increases "may appear large in percentage terms."
It continues to shine a spotlight on Chicago violence, though, that has grabbed headlines and the attention of President Donald Trump for consistent gun violence.
Over Easter weekend, 45 people were shot in Chicago, two of them fatally, marking one of the most violent weekends of the year. On Monday, two people were killed and nine others wounded.
A Cook County judge was killed in a shooting last week, and last last month four people were killed when a gunman opened fire on a South Side restaurant.
Trump continues to bemoan Chicago violence. His administration recently announced Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a review of all Justice Department "consent decrees" that force police departments to overhaul their practices.
