SAN FRANCISCO -- After a double-fatal shooting in San Francisco's Mission District Thursday and a surge in violence there that has left six dead in the past two weeks, police Chief Heather Fong Friday announced there would be an increased police presence in the troubled neighborhood.

Fong said additional uniformed and plainclothes officers will be deployed, especially in areas where drugs are being sold and gang members are known to congregate.

"The violence in the Mission is unacceptable," Fong said. She said those involved in gang and drug activity "have no regard whatsoever for the community."

Fong asked for community members to report any suspicious activity by calling 911 or the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444.

"We need each and every person to say, I too want this violence to stop in my neighborhood," she said.

Fong acknowledged that the Police Department still needs additional resources in the form of new hires, and said the department can't begin pulling officers from other police districts out of fear criminal activity might then spike in those areas.

Fong decried the recent killings and other attacks in the Mission District as "senseless" and "vicious."

On Thursday at about 9:45 p.m., two men and a woman were approached at 24th and Utah streets and shot by two men with handguns who then fled down 24th Street in a silver minivan that had been waiting for them, police said.

The two men died, but the woman escaped with non-life threatening injuries, according to police. The San Francisco medical examiner's office identified the men as Matthew Solomon, 23, of San Mateo County, and Noel Espinoza, 19, of San Francisco, both. A woman who was with them was also shot and survived.

Earlier Friday, family and friends gathered at a makeshift curbside memorial to remember the two young men.

A cousin of one of the slain men was struggling to find a reason for his death.

"My cousin is dead. My friend is dead – rest in peace their souls," said a woman who asked not to be identified. "They died innocent. There weren't from nowhere. They weren’t gang members."

Another woman who asked not to be identified said he saw the gunman right after the shooting.

"As soon as the shots went off -- and there were a lot of them -- I noticed the guy all dressed in black head to toe wearing a white mask like a Halloween mask,” she said. “I saw the gun in his hand."

Police Sgt. Neville Gittens said the 24th Street area is known for gang activity, but said it was not known whether this shooting was gang related.

The fatal shootings were the 70th and 71st homicides reported by police in San Francisco this year, according to Gittens. There were 80 reported at the same time last year, he said.

The shootings also mark the 10th and 11th homicides so far this year in the Mission District.

On Wednesday night, the San Francisco Police Department's gang task force was monitoring the Mission District for possible retaliation after the president of the Hells Angels San Francisco chapter was murdered a day earlier.

Mark Guardado, 45, was found suffering from gunshot wounds near the intersection of 24th Street and Treat Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

A 24-year-old man, Marcelino Canul-Castro, of San Francisco, was fatally shot early Monday morning in the unit block of San Carlos Street.

On Aug. 24, 18-year-old Jorge Hurtado, of San Francisco, died after being shot at 23rd Street and Treat Avenue.

On Aug. 22, Samuel Mitchell, 47, of San Francisco, was fatally shot at 26th and Folsom streets.

No arrests have been made in any of the killings.

Earlier Thursday, at about 6:30 p.m., a man and a woman sitting with their 4-month-old girl in their parked car at 18th and Bryant streets were shot and driven to San Francisco General Hospital by friends who heard the shooting.

One of the victims was shot in the head, and both victims' injuries were considered life threatening, according to police. The child was not injured.

In that case, a suspect was seen fleeing the area in a silver or gray compact vehicle, police said.

The new police strategy in the Mission District includes extended beat coverage in the areas where violence has been occurring, including the Mission Street corridor and nearby streets, as well as increased patrols by car. Units from the gang task force, undercover narcotics teams, SWAT teams and canine units will also be deployed to the area. Other operations include fugitive recovery and probation and parole compliance checks.

School resource officers at Mission High School will be doubled, police said.

Fong said criminals "are becoming younger and younger." When youth as young as 13 years old are "running around with guns, we have a serious problem," she said.

Fong also noted a cooperative effort with the California Highway Patrol to help monitor city streets, and ongoing operations with state and federal agencies that "we are not at liberty to talk about."

Fong said that many of the city's crime suspects, as well as victims, have had prior contacts with law enforcement and were on probation or parole. She maintained that the court system needs to do a better job helping them safely re-enter the community, or they should not be allowed back on the street.

"If they can't abide by the court orders, they should not be in the communities," Fong said. "The courts need to recognize that and take a stronger stand," she said.