She hopes that there won't be more parents like Jonylah's, faced with the horrible task of burying their child.

"We sort of left our children behind and to fend for themselves," Thomas said. "And it's time for us to take our children back."

Some 535 people were killed in Chicago last year, according to local crime statistics, up from 433 in 2011. The torrid pace continued into 2013, with 43 homicides in January, and after a drop in February, they've picked up once again.

Jonylah became part of those grisly statistics when one bullet struck her March 11, not several as initially reported, as she sat with her father in a vehicle on the South Side.

That bullet damaged several parts of her small body, and she died the next day.

Her father, Jonathan Watkins -- believed to be the target of the shooting, according to police -- was also hit. Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said Watkins has been cooperating with authorities, adding that police have surveillance footage of a van in which the gunman sped away after the shooting.

Despite his injuries, Watkins attended his daughter's funeral. Mourners also saw images of him holding his baby girl.

Brooks, the church's pastor, said he hopes Tuesday's outpouring of support -- and the positive steps he hopes Chicagoans will take in their own lives, and those of their neighbors, to prevent such violence -- will show the world their suffering and their dedication to stand behind one another.

"The world thinks that there's nothing but animals that live on the South Side, but we've proved to them today that we are real people ... with real experiences," he said. "And we hurt just like they hurt."