Leo Schmitz, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force of the Illinois State Police announces the deployment of more police officers following Chicago area Negro Violence Expressway Shootings

Illinois State Police officials said they will increase enforcement on the Dan Ryan and Eisenhower expressways in response to a rise in freeway shootings this year.

Since January, there have been 26 shootings within the Cook County interstate system, compared to 19 in all of 2014 and 16 in all of 2013, according to data shared at a Wednesday news conference. Twelve of this year's shootings have led to injuries, compared to 11 in 2014, according to numbers from the state police.

Most of the shootings stemmed from gang conflicts or criminal activity and happened between midnight and 5 a.m. Saturday and Sunday mornings, said Maj. Luis Gutierrez of the Illinois State Police. The majority occurred on the Dan Ryan Expressway on Chicago's South Side or between Western and Central avenues on the Eisenhower Expressway, according to state police Capt. David Byrd.

A shooting early Monday on the Kennedy Expressway near Sayre Avenue was an anomaly because most of the shootings do not happen that far north or on the Kennedy, Byrd said. The motive of that shooting is still under investigation, he said.

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