Cook County recorded more gun-related homicides in 2020 than any other year, surpassing the previous record set in 1994, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The county saw 875 such homicides this year, exceeding the 838 recorded in 1994, according to a news release.

The medical examiner’s office handled 970 homicides in total, the most since 1996, the release said. That figure marks a 40% increase over last year’s homicide total of 675.

Most of the homicides happened in the city of Chicago, and Black people were disproportionately impacted, accounting for 78% of the victims.

In Cook County, 22 children younger than 10 years old died in a homicide.

Experts and city leaders told the Tribune that a number of factors would have impacted the rise in violence, but noted that the pandemic and civil unrest likely contributed.

The county medical examiner’s office handled a record number of cases overall, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the release said. The COVID-19 deaths accounted for more than half of the office’s 2020 caseload.

mabuckley@chicagotribune.com