The mayor of Atlanta is saying “enough is enough” after an 8-year-old black girl was shot dead by Black Lives Matter agitators at a demonstration site over the weekend. Authorities say at least two people opened fire on a car trying to drive through an occupied protest area, hitting the girl. There’s now a $10,000 reward for information on the child’s killers.
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
Sunday night, another shooting at the site reportedly left one person dead at the scene and two others injured. Anti-police activists also damaged Georgia State Patrol headquarters in Atlanta early Sunday, according to ABC 13.
BLM activists have been occupying a parking lot across the street from a now burned-out Wendy’s where 27-year-old
Rayshard Brooks was fatally shot by an Atlanta police officer, last month.
The intoxicated Brooks was confronted by officers as he slept in a car blocking the Wendy’s drive-through lane. After Brooks assaulted the officer, wrestled a taser from him and fired it toward him, the officer shot him twice from behind. Officer Garrett Rolfe and officer Devin Brosnan then allegedly assaulted Brooks after he had been shot. According to witnesses and video footage, Rolfe kicked Brooks and Brosnan stood on his shoulder.
In an interview with NBC’s TODAY, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Brooks “could’ve been any one of us.”
The Fulton County District Attorney announced eleven charges against Rolfe: felony murder, five counts of aggravated assault, four police oath violations, and damage to property.
Saturday, little Secoriea Turner was riding in a car with her mother and her mother’s friend when they tried to drive through the occupiers’ illegal barricades to get to a parking lot near the occupied area.
A “group of armed individuals” who were blocking the entrance reportedly surrounded the car, according to Atlanta PD,
“At some point, someone in that group opened fire on the vehicle, striking it multiple times and striking the child who was inside. The driver then drove to Atlanta Medical Center for help,” police said in a statement. The child died at the hospital.
On Sunday night, the Atlanta mayor finally lost patience with the “protesters.”
“You shot and killed a baby,” the mayor said. “And there wasn’t just one shooter, there were at least two shooters.”
“You can’t blame this on a police officer. You can’t say this about criminal justice reform,” she added. “This is about some people carrying some weapons who shot up a car with an 8-year-old baby in the car for what?!?
“Enough is enough,” she continued. “If you want people to take us seriously and you don’t want us to lose this movement, we can’t lose each other.”
After police announced the $10,000 reward, the mayor urged anyone with information to come forward.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1280003169330900992?s=20
“She was only 8 years old,” said her mother, Charmaine Turner. “She would have been on Tik Tok dancing on her phone, just got done eating. We understand the frustration of Rayshard Brooks. We didn’t have anything to do with that. We’re innocent. My baby didn’t mean no harm.”
Charmaine Turner, mother of 8-year-old shooting victim Secoriea Turner, pleads with the public for help to find the person responsible for killing her daughter last night on University Ave. and Pryor. A $10,000 reward is being offered to help solve the crime. @11AliveNews pic.twitter.com/tToUxavgAS
— Natisha Lance (@NatishaLance) July 5, 2020
Turner said they had tried to make a u-turn, but were shot at anyway. “Nobody was there to help me. Nobody,” she lamented. Overwhelmed with grief, the mother later broke into loud sobs.
“She just wanted to get home to see her cousins,” said her father, Secoriya Williamson.
“They say Black lives matter,” he said. “You killed your own. You killed your own, this time”
"They say Black Lives Matter. You killed your own… You killed a child.”
Secoriya Williamson, father of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner, addressed the public after his daughter was shot and killed last night in Atlanta by armed protesters. pic.twitter.com/J8zngZsjaQ
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 6, 2020
President Trump on Monday tweeted out comments made by acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on Fox News.
“This is no longer about peaceful protesting, this is about angry, violent, criminal mobs taking over certain (Democrat run) cities,” Wolf said on Fox and Friends. “It is a lack of political leadership in that city.”
“This is no longer about peaceful protesting, this is about angry, violent, criminal mobs taking over certain (Democrat run) cities. It is a lack of political leadership in that city.” Chad Wolf @DHSgov @foxandfriends @NYGovCuomo @NYCMayor
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 6, 2020
In addition to the two deaths, more than 20 people were injured in gunfire and violence in Atlanta during the holiday weekend, according to Atlanta PD.