Atlanta girl, 8, fatally shot near Rayshard Brooks memorial site

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Eight-year-old Secoriea Turner was shot and killed Sunday in Atlanta. The incident occured close to the site where Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by police on June 12.

The young girl was in a car with her mother who tried to pull into a nearby parking lot when they were confronted by a group of armed people who had blocked the entrance. For reasons not yet known, someone in the group opened fire striking the car several times, killing Turner.

JUST IN: We just got these photos of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner, who was killed last night near the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks died: https://t.co/U2niKwoxXF pic.twitter.com/GI9zpSlbLl

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) July 5, 2020

Atlanta Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, has said that incident is enough for her to clear out the area. “You shot and killed a baby,” Bottoms said at a press conference, “Enough is enough.”

The Mayor had been allowing the site to remain open for peaceful protests. However, she stated that for every 100 peaceful demonstrations, there is a negative incident. Protesters allegedly attempted to firebomb the Georgia Department of Public Safety headquarters building early Sunday.

According to a report from Atlanta’s 11Alive, 60 to 100 people showed up at the building at 1 a.m. wearing dark clothing and masks. Lt. Stephanie Stallings of the Georgia State Patrol told the outlet that the group threw fireworks through windows which started a small fire.

Brooks was shot by former Atlanta police officer, Garrett Rolfe, after being confronted when he fell asleep in a Wendy’s parking lot. Following a breathalyzer test, Brooks grabbed Rolfe’s taser and ran. He was shot as he ran away. Bodycam footage also noted that the officer kicked him in the head after the shooting.

“We understand the frustration of Rayshard Brooks,” Turner’s mother, Charmaine Turner, said at a press conference, “We ain’t got nothing to do with that. (We’re) innocent. We didn’t mean no harm. My baby didn’t mean no harm.”

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My God!!! 💔💔💔😭😭😭 I have a 9 year old daughter…. And a 8 year old son!!! I can not even imagine!!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 😭😭 #Repost @frantvhost & @thememorialoftheangels ・・・ This is 8 year old #SecorieaTurner . She was one of the 28 people shot in the last 24 hours in Atlanta. She is one of the four people that died. ***The boy in the last two pictures is #davonmcneal On Saturday, July 4, 2020, Crystal McNeal held a violence prevention cookout outside the Cedar Gardens apartment complex in southern Washington. 11 year old Davon McNeal accompanied his mother to the party. Around 9:20 pm, Davon was running into a relative’s house to get ear buds and a phone charger, when according to police, a group of about 5 males opened fire and a dark-colored sedan was seen fleeing through a nearby alley. Davon was hit in the head by a bullet and died at the hospital a short time later. 😩😭💔💔🙏🏽 **In Secoriea’s incident, the shooting happened in Atlanta on University Avenue Saturday night not too far from where #RayshardBrooks was killed by police. Officials say Secoriea was in the car with her mom and her mother’s friend, when they exited onto University Avenue from the Downtown Connector. As they turned into a parking lot, according to police, they were confronted by an armed group who had block the entrance with barricades. All of a sudden shots rang out. “At some point, someone in that group opened fire on the vehicle, striking it multiple times and striking the child who was inside,” police wrote in their latest statement on the incident. The mother and her friend rushed rhe little girl to Atlanta Medical Center for treatment but little Secoriea didn’t survive. The reward for information that leads to an arrest and indictment is typically up to $2,000 but it has been increased to $10,000. Anyone who does have information can provide it anonymously to Crime Stoppers by calling 404-577-8477 or by visiting the organization’s website. #SecorieaTurner #DavonMcneal RIP young Queen & young King!! Pray for the families involved please & help if you can!!! 🙏🏽#stopthegunviolence #stopkillingus #blacklivesmatter even when it’s our own killing us as well!!! STOP!!!! 😡

A post shared by Monyetta Shaw (@monyettashaw) on Jul 6, 2020 at 6:21am PDT

According to an NBC News report, a 53-year-old man was killed in a shooting, and two other people were wounded in the same area later that night.

Mayor Bottoms continued to express her frustration during the press conference saying, “We are doing each other more harm than any police officer on this force. We’ve had over 75 shootings in the city over the past several weeks. You can’t blame that on APD (Atlanta Police Department).”

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