Chicago has a problem, a serious problem. This problem has existed for decades. It’s only so long the echoing cries of thousands of lost souls can go ignored. Chicago, which has been dubbed “Chiraq,” has surpassed 500 homicides thus far in 2016, eclipsing 2012’s murder total of 512.

A deadly Labor Day weekend with 13 homicides led to this grim milestone. The Windy City has posted 90 homicides in the month of August alone, according to the New York Times. It was the deadliest month in Chicago in about 20 years.

Chicago, the third-largest city in the nation, has double the amount of homicides of larger cities New York and Los Angeles combined.

Nearly 3,000 people have been shot this year, The Atlantic reports.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson called the violence in Chicago a “society issue.”

“It’s not a police issue, it’s a society issue,” Johnson said, according to The Chicago Tribune. “Impoverished neighborhoods, people without hope do these kinds of things. You show me a man that doesn’t have hope, I’ll shoe you one that’s willing to pick up a gun and do anything with it. Those are the issues that’s driving this violence. CPD is doing its job.”

Johnson called for tougher gun laws.

“It’s important that we all wrap our heads around what’s going on here in Chicago,” he said. “We need to enact tougher penalties, so these individuals know their actions will not go without consequences. Until then, you’re going to keep seeing the same results on the streets.”