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CHICAGO — The city is touting three consecutive years of a decline in gun violence with a significant drop in murders.

According to Chicago police, gun violence is down for a third consecutive year. However, 2020 is already off to a violent start. Since midnight, there have been at least six shooting incidents, leaving four people wounded.

As for the past year, the Chicago Police Department said overall crime was at its lowest level since 2015.

Shootings were down by 10% and the number of people wounded was down by 8%.

The number of murders dropped by 13% but even so, about 500 people lost their lives.

In a late night news conference Tuesday, interim police Supt. Charlie Beck went over the annual stats and stressed a continued push for improvement. He credited community partners and technology in helping to curb the murder rate.

While 2020 is murder free as of 7:30 a.m., just 15 minutes into the new year, someone fired into an apartment building in West Garfield Park, hitting a 24-year-old woman in the back as she was watching television with her family.

In other separate overnight incidents, a 31-year-old man was shot in the knee while standing on a porch, a 19-year-old shot in the hip while walking down an alley and a 21-year-old man showed up at Stroger Hospital with a gunshot to the lower back. All of those shot are recovering.

Police are also investigating two incidents of bullet damage to marked squad cars on the West and South sides. No one was hurt and no one was taken into custody.