An Atlanta family is mourning the untimely death of an 8-year-old child who was shot in the city over the holiday weekend. CNN reports the killing took place near the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks’s life was taken last month. The police are now offering $10,000 for any information that could lead to the arrest of her killers.
According to 11 Alive, Secoriea Turner was the passenger in a vehicle with her mother and her mother’s friend. The driver attempted to turn into a parking lot that was being blocked by a group of men. Those men opened fire on the car, hitting it multiple times and striking Secoria who was in the backseat of the car. The young girl was rushed to Atlanta Medical Center but attempts to save her life were not successful.
On Sunday night, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms offered a very strong rebuke of the actions that took Secoriea’s life. “Enough is enough,” Bottoms pleaded. “We’re fighting the enemy within when we are shooting each other up in our streets,” she said. “You shot and killed a baby. And it wasn’t one shooter, there was at least two.”
Bottoms expressed frustration over the growing number of shootings in the city as protests demand that officers stop taking Black lives. According to her, there have been more than 75 shootings in Atlanta and they are not attributed to the Atlanta Police Department. Fatalities include Secoriea as well as a 53-year-old man who was shot and killed on the scene near the same Wendy’s Sunday.
During Sunday afternoon’s press conference, the parents of Secoriea Turner gave an impassioned plea to those who may have been involved or who know who may have shot and killed their child. “Help me. Help my baby,” Charmaine Turner petitioned, visibly distraught. “She was only 8 years old. She would have been on TikTok dancing. In her phone. Just got finished eating. We understand the frustration of racial uprising. We understand. We ain’t got nothing to do with that.”
The police are asking for the public’s help in ensuring that Secoriea’s killers are brought to justice. Anybody with information should contact Detective J. Shephard with the Atlanta Police Department or submit anonymous tips to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or online at stopcrimeatl.com.