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Police officers stand at attention as a hearse arrives at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York during the funeral service for slain New York City Police Officer Randolph Holder in the Queens borough of New York City, Oct. 28, 2015. Reuters

With five police officers killed this week alone across the United States, 2016 has already seen a considerable surge in the number of officers shot and killed compared to last year during the same period.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which tracks the preliminary numbers of law enforcement fatalities, said eight police officers died from firearms-related incidents from Jan. 1 to Feb. 12 this year, compared to one last year during the same time. While 13 officers died last year from the beginning of the year to Feb. 12 — compared to 11 in the same period this year — most of the 2015 fatalities were traffic-related compared to two this year.

Deaths have been recorded from California to Georgia. Maryland had the most police fatalities this year with two: Two police officers in Harford County, Maryland, were gunned down in a shootout earlier this week, NBC News reported. Deputy Patrick Dailey and Deputy Mark Logsdon were called to a Panera Bread to search for a wanted subject, David Evans, who shot them both.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said the slain deputies “served this county and they served this country, faithfully, honorably and they lost their lives doing what they loved to do,” NBC News reported.

The latest shooting deaths happened Thursday, one in North Dakota and one in Georgia. Officer Jason Moszer of the Fargo Police Department died Thursday after being shot during a domestic disturbance to which he responded hours before, making him the first Fargo police officer to be killed in the line of duty in more than 100 years, the Associated Press reported. In suburban Atlanta, Riverdale Police Maj. Greg Carney was shot and killed Thursday while attempting to serve a warrant, NBC News reported.

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