With nine people shot to death so far this week, Chicago has now surpassed last year’s historically high murder pace, according to police.

Chicago police have reported 289 murders so far this year, department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Friday. He said there were 284 murders through the same period last year.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office, which counts killings differently, reported 301 homicides in the city as of Thursday night. The medical examiner’s office reported 304 homicides through June 15, 2016.

The difference in the numbers is because the medical examiner’s office counts all fatal police shootings, as well as other deaths not counted in the police total, such as deaths that detectives have ruled self-defense or that have not yet been classified as murders.

The most recent killing happened when police found a 17-year-old boy shot dead in the 5900 block of West Thomas Street in the Austin neighborhood at about 11:15 p.m. Thursday, according to police. The medical examiner’s office has not released the teen’s name as of noon Friday.

Guglielmi noted in an email that shootings in the city are down about 14 percent from last year even though deaths are up.

Lakeidra Chavis is a producer for WBEZ. Follow her @lakeidrachavis