Report: 2016 was Chicago's deadliest, most violent year in nearly 20 years

It doesn't appear that strict gun control laws are working in Chicago.

According to the Chicago Tribune, in 2016, Chicago saw it's deadliest month in 23 years, its deadliest day in 13 years, more than 4,300 people shot and more than 750 homicides — all staggering numbers.

Because of skyrocketing violent crime rates, the city has even earned the nickname of "Chiraq" an ode to the violence in the Middle Eastern country of Iraq.

More from the Tribune:

Through Dec. 26, 754 people were slain in Chicago compared with 480 during the same period last year, an increase of 57 percent, according to official Police Department statistics. The last time Chicago tallied a similar number of killings was in 1997, when 761 people were slain. Shooting incidents also jumped by 46 percent this year to 3,512 from 2,398, the statistics show.

And it's not just shootings and homicides that continue to go up. According to Chicago crime statistics, nearly all violent crime rates increased by double digits in 2016, including sexual assaults, robberies and assaults.

Chicago even outpaced America's other two major cities — New York City and Los Angeles — in shootings and homicides combined.

According to the Tribune, Los Angeles and New York City combined to have a total of 613 homicides, more than 100 less than Chicago, and 2,306 shooting victims, less than half of the number of shooting victims in Chicago, despite the Windy City having 2.7 million less people.

There's no doubt: rising crime and shootings is an enormous problem in Chicago.

First Deputy Superintendent Kevin Navarro, second-in-command to Chicago police superintendent Eddie Johnson, told the Tribune that part of the problem is that gangs are now using guns as their only means to settle conflict.

"We used to respond to gang fights in progress … now we respond to shots fired," Navarro said. "People fought. Now everyone picks up the gun. Just like that."

According to the Associated Press, Chicago officially ended 2016 with 762 homicides. In addition, the number of illegal firearms recovered surpassed 8,000, which represents a 20 percent increase from 2015.

Statistics also show that most of the violent crime is located within just a half dozen Chicago neighborhoods.