A 3-year-old boy and an off-duty Cook County sheriff’s deputy were among 27 people shot across Chicago over the weekend, a drop from last weekend but enough to push the number of people hit by gunfire so far this year to nearly 300.-

With two days to go in January, the number of shootings and homicides in the city is close to the entire first month of 2016. Last year ended up being the most violent year in decades.

As of Monday morning, 295 people had been shot in Chicago this month, two shy of the entire month last year, according to data kept by the Tribune.

At least 52 homicides have been recorded, five fewer than all of January last year. Chicago Police Department statistics are lower because …