Chicago's bloodiest day in more than a DECADE: Nine people killed - including young boy shot in back as he played with his twin sister - as crime runs roughshod over Windy City

The bloodletting in Chicago continues apace as the Windy City endures one of the worst crime waves  in its history.

On Monday alone, nine people were fatally shot and 10 others were wounded in a spree of gun violence that was the city's worst single-day tally since July 5, 2003, when 10 people were killed.

Tavon Tanner was a 10-year-old boy who was innocently playing with his twin sister in front of their home in the Lawndale section of Chicago.

According to theChicago Tribune, an unidentified gunman fired at least nine shots in Tavon's direction, hitting him in the back.

His mother, Mellanie Washington, said that her wounded son 'staggered through the front door, gasping for air and yelling, 'I can't breathe', according to theWashington Post.

Emergency responders rushed the boy to Mount Sinai Hospital, where doctors performed hours of surgery that entailed removing his spleen and operating on his kidneys. He was in critical condition as of Tuesday, according to theChicago Tribune.

'I didn't even know (Tavon) was next to me until he fell backwards through the doorway when I was crawling in the house,' she told the local stationABC7. 'He was talking and we didn't even know he was shot at first, until we saw blood on his shirt.''

'He got hit in the kidney, they patched it up. Hit in the pancreas, took a piece out. Got hit in the intestines, took a piece out. Hit in the spleen, removed it. A bullet is lodged in his chest,' Washington said.

She said her goal now is to remain strong for Tavon's twin sister, Taniyah, who was 'a nervous wreck'.

When she noticed that her brother was teetering on the brink of death, she begged him: 'Twin, don't leave me!'

'He kept his eyes open because I told him to keep them open! If he closed them I open them back up!' Taniyah said. When asked about her state of mind as she was waiting for news on her brother near the hospital, she said: 'I'm scared about my brother not waking up'.

Moments before Tavon's shooting, a man in his 20s was shot in the head at a nearby basketball court. Just a few blocks away, another man was killed two hours later.

On Chicago's South Side, Michael Lucas, a 61-year-old man, was watching his three-year-old grand-nephew play in front of his porch when two unidentified gunmen ran toward his home and shot him multiple times.

According to theChicago Sun Times, Lucas was shot once. Moments later, the assailants pushed the grandnephew out of the way and fired three more bullets into Lucas, striking him in the neck and head. He died on the stoop.

The gunmen then fled in a red SUV.

Just around the corner from where Tanner was shot, a drive-by shooter killed Irell Mitchell, a 22-year-old man, in North Lawndale. Mitchell, who suffered gunshot wounds to his arm and back, was pronounced dead on arrival at Stroger Hospital.

The details of the killings were reported by the websiteDNAinfo.com.

In the Englewood section of Chicago, Erik Williams, 27, was shot to death by an assailant who was driving by in a gray sedan, according to police. Authorities are searching for the suspect.

An hour later, one man was killed and two others critically wounded in a drive-by shooting in the Far South Side.

The fatality was identified as Anthony Hatchett, 44, who took a bullet to the head. The other casualties were 28 and 30 years old. They are currently in critical condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center. Police are searching for the gunman.

On Chicago’s West Side, a 28-year-old believed to be involved in gang-related activity was shot at close range and seriously wounded. He was pronounced dead moments later at Mount Sinai Hospital.

A 17-year-old passerby was struck by an errant bullet in his ankle. He was treated at Loretto Hospital.

In the Little Village section of Chicago, a 25-year-old father of a seven-year-old girl was gunned down in his car while stopped at a red light.

A CPD spokesperson told DNAinfo that a dark-colored car pulled up next to the man, William Villa, and shot him in the head. Three other women were in the car with Villa at the time of the shooting.

Of all major US cities, Chicago has seen the largest increase in homicides this year. There have been 316 murders recorded in the first half of 2016, up from 211 that were recorded in the first half of 2015.

If current trends continue, Chicago will be home to over 600 murders by year's end, the most since 2003, according to the Washington Post.

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