A four-year-old girl was wounded Monday afternoon when bullets flew as she played with other children in front of a home on the city's south side.
Witnesses said Khalise Weatherspoon was riding her scooter when two men stepped out of a nearby alley and sprayed shots toward other men on a nearby porch.
"She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Asmahan Allen.
Damage from bullets was seen on at least two homes. As police investigated, they marked the location where at least nine bullets were found.
Bamani Obadele's children were playing with Weatherspoon when the shots rang out.
"I don't know how I talk to my children tonight about what happened. I mean, they're very upset in there. This is trauma that they've never experienced before," he said.
Weatherspoon was shot in the abdomen area and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital by a neighbor.
Derrick Lewis said instinct took over when the girl's mother came running toward him.
"She comes behind me holding her baby in her hands saying, 'Derrick, my baby's been shot,'" he recalled. "And I grabbed the baby and I covered her and I put her in my car and did just the like the police would do: ran every stop light to get her to save this child."
Another man, who officials said had no relationship to Weatherspoon, was shot in the inner thigh and taken to Holy Cross Hospital. Neither victim were the intended targets, police said.
By 10 p.m., Weatherspoon's grandfather, Richard Spires, said his granddaughter's condition had stabilized and that doctors were preparing to move her from the emergency room to another patient room. Family friend Gwen Baxter said the girl was alert but appeared sleepy. She was asking for candy, Baxter said.
Area Central detectives were investigating. Police did not say anything about any arrests in the case.
