12 shot, 1 fatally, in Chicago on May 1, including 4-year-old girl

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The month of May is off to a violent start. On May 1, 12 people were wounded by gunfire across the city, including a 4-year-old girl. One person was killed.

"It's real senseless because where are the children safe at? Not in the homes. Not on the porch. Not at the parks. I mean, you're discharging a weapon at someone, for what? Then you hit a baby," said Andrew Holmes, an anti-violence activist in Chicago.

Around 7:40 p.m. Tuesday, police said a the little girl was playing on the porch with her parents in the city's Auburn Gresham neighborhood when a dark colored sedan drove by and fired shots at the house.

The child was shot in the shoulder. Her family rushed her to Little Company of Mary Hospital and she was later transferred to Stroger Hospital, where her condition stabilized.

Police said a person at the home has a history with the Chicago Police Department and may have been the intended target. Holmes appealed to witnesses for information.

"For someone to ride past or walk past and discharge this weapon... What was you thinking? It's somebody's baby. This is somebody's baby," Holmes said. "I'm asking them to rush to get this information to detectives so they can apprehend these individuals. There's no need to start this summer, this spring, off like this."

Area South detectives are investigating. Anyone who wants to report information anonymously can do so at cpdtip.com.

In the last two days, temperatures have been soaring into the 80s, which brings out the fear of a potential spike in crime. These shooting incidents occurred on the same day the CPD released new numbers for the month of April, showing shootings and homicides were down for the 14th consecutive month.

Meanwhile, a Chicago father prayed for his daughter, 19-year-old Imani Williams, who was fighting for her life Wednesday morning. She was struck in the stomach by a bullet on the West Side just after 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.

"I try to tell her, you know, don't come to the city. It's just not good to be here, you know? That's one of the reasons why they're in the suburbs," said Brian Williams, Imani's dad.

His daughter is a College of DuPage freshman who lives in south suburban Willowbrook.

"Chicago is a very violent place right now. Some areas, not all areas. It's just awful," Brian Williams said.

The day's only fatal shooting happened about 10:20 p.m. in the West Side Austin neighborhood.

A 32-year-old man was shot in the torso in the 4800 block of West Washington, according to Chicago Police.

He was taken by a relative to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead. No further information was immediately available as Area North detectives were conducting a homicide investigation. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office didn't immediately confirm his death.

A 17-year-old boy was wounded in the West Side Lawndale neighborhood.

The boy was walking about 10:15 p.m. in the 1200 block of South Avers when someone shot him in his arm. He was taken to Saint Anthony Hospital, where his condition stabilized, police said.

A 21-year-old man was shot in the hand at 6:09 p.m. in the 500 block of North Ridgeway in East Garfield Park. He was in good condition and the circumstances of the shooting weren't immediately known, police said.

Two 25-year-old men were also grazed by bullets in separate incidents on West Madison in East Garfield Park.

One man suffered a graze wound to the left leg while walking at 1:28 a.m. in the 3200 block of West Washington and the other suffered graze wound to his wrist about 7:05 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Madison, police said.

A bullet also grazed a 29-year-old man's head about 3:30 a.m. in the 2300 block of West Jackson on the Near West Side.

The day's final shooting happened at 11:58 p.m. in the Little Village neighborhood.

A man was talking to a woman who was sitting in a vehicle when a dark colored vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired shots at 11:58 p.m. in the 2200 block of South Millard.

The man, 26, was struck in the shoulder and took himself to Mount Sinai Hospital where he is in fair condition. A 29-year-old woman who was sitting on a porch when the shooting occurred was hit in the stomach by a fragment. She was also taken to Mount Sinai where she was in good condition, police said.

Two men were also shot in Brainerd and in West Garfield Park.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.