SAN FRANCISCO -- Homicide investigators were busy Monday trying to get a handle on one of the most violent weekends in recent memory that has left four men dead in separate shootings and a woman beaten to death in a domestic violence incident. The city has had 52 homicides so far this year.

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The latest fatality took place Sunday night when a man was shot and killed in the Sunnydale housing project.

A black man between the ages of 26 and 27 was shot in the unit block of Santos near the Cow Palace around 10 p.m. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where he later died.

Hours earlier, a fatal shooting took place in San Francisco's Potrero Hill area around 1:45 a.m., according to the San Francisco Police Department.

A man around 25-years-old died at SF General after he was shot in the chest in the 1800 block of 25th Street. There were no suspects.

A third fatal shooting took place at approximately 8 p.m. Saturday, and police Sgt. Neville Gittens said the victim appeared to have been intentionally targeted.

The suspect apparently approached the victim on foot at 2734 24th St. in the city's Mission District, Gittens said. Witnesses later pointed out a man to police who was then taken into custody as a possible suspect.

The unidentified victim in that shooting was pronounced dead at the scene, Gittens said.

At approximately 9 p.m., Gittens said that a drive-by shooting took place in the Mission District, near 22nd and Florida streets.

One person was shot, Gittens said who added that was unknown if the shooting was gang related.

Another young man lost his life on the troubled streets of San Francisco late Friday night -- the latest victim of what District Attorney Kamala Harris has described as an 'epidemic' of homicide.

SF police reported that the man -- believed to be in his 20s -- was the victim of a fatal shooting on the border of the Excelsior District at approximately 11 p.m. Friday. The case was still under investigation, and there were no suspects nor motive at this time.

The slaying came hours after Harris spoke about how city officials were grappling with escalating violence that has produced the highest homicide rate in nearly a decade.

"We are looking at an epidemic," Harris said. "At the rate we are going we will have 100 murders. We've passed Oakland. We pride ourselves on being a civilized city. These numbers don't represent that."

Oakland, which usually leads the San Francisco Bay area in slayings, has had 39 murders this year. San Jose has recorded 17 homicides and three fatal shootings by officers.

In response to the rising violence, Mayor Gavin Newsom has been visiting violence-plagued neighborhoods, advising youths, promising jobs and asking witnesses to come forward.

Harris has vowed to crack down on gun-toting criminals and weapons dealers, and Police Chief Heather Fong has assigned more cops to housing projects.

The surge in violence is being driven in part by young people, often armed with automatic weapons. One quarter of the homicides this year occurred within a few miles of Bayview-Hunters Point. Two-thirds of the victims were African-American.