CHICAGO — Chicago police say an eruption of gun violence after the official end of the July Fourth weekend left nearly as many people dead in a few hours as were killed between Friday afternoon and midnight Tuesday.

Police say there were 56 incidents in which people were shot, including eight homicides, from Friday evening until midnight Tuesday. But between midnight and 6 a.m. Wednesday, another 15 incidents of people being shot occurred, including six homicides.

The shootings came as the department put more than 1,300 extra officers on the streets, which has become standard during long, warm-weather holiday weekends.

During last year’s July Fourth weekend, which was a day shorter than this year’s, 50 people were shot — three fatally.

Police say they seized 158 illegal guns this holiday weekend.