Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) demanded an end to violence in the city after an 8-year-old girl was shot dead near a Wendy’s restaurant where a police murder occurred that helped increase growing tensions in the region.
“We are shooting ourselves on our streets in this city. And they shot and killed a baby,” Bottoms said during a press conference on Sunday. “And there was no shooter, there were at least two shooters. An 8-year-old baby. We are doing ourselves more harm than any other police officer in this force.”
Bottoms’ comments came after authorities confirmed the death of Secoriea Turner, an 8-year-old girl who was shot to death Saturday while sitting in a car across the street from Wendy’s parking lot. Turner was shot when a driver tried to park where a group of people had put up illegal barriers, according to CNN.
Mayor Bottoms and Acting Chief Bryant discuss the murder of an 8-year-old boy over the holiday weekend. https://t.co/iCjls5QC47
– Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) July 5, 2020
Wendy’s parking lot was the site of the Rayshard Brooks police shooting in June. Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, was shot dead by an officer after police responded to a complaint that a man was lying in his sleeping car in the restaurant’s restaurant.
Brooks’ shooting prompted Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields to resign. Garrett Rolfe, the officer who fatally shot Brooks, was also fired immediately and is now facing one count of felony murder. Devin Brosnan, the other officer involved in the incident, has also been charged with aggravated assault.
Protests have continued for weeks in the area in and around the Wendy’s parking lot where the shooting took place. The restaurant was burned down just a day after the incident. Bottoms said the protests have coincided with an increase in violence, noting that the city has reported more than 75 shootings in recent weeks.
“We talk a lot about what we are demanding from our officers,” he said. “We are now demanding action for Secoria Turner and all the other people who were killed in Atlanta last night and in the past few weeks because the reality is this: These are not police officers shooting people on the streets. They are members of the community shooting themselves. among them “.
“Enough is enough,” he added. “You can’t blame this on a police officer. You can’t say it’s about criminal justice reform. It’s about some people carrying some guns who shot into a car with an 8-year-old baby in the car. what? “
Bottoms noted that the city has experienced challenges since Brooks’ death, with protesters putting up barriers near Wendy’s restaurant to close the roads. She said she received reports that the barriers were placed in the area just before receiving a message that a girl had been fatally shot.
The mayor also called people who have been seen openly carrying firearms in the area. He noted that Georgia law allows this behavior, calling it “sad” because they can walk the streets of the city with weapons.
He called on protesters to take responsibility for ensuring that protests remain peaceful, saying that “if you are part of a protest or demonstration that seems to be going the wrong way, it is time to withdraw because you are no longer a part of the solution, you are part of the problem. “
On the day of the press conference, the Atlanta Police Department reported another deadly shooting near Wendy’s restaurant where Brooks was killed. Officers found a 53-year-old man who had been shot to death on the scene. Two other victims were injured and transported to the hospital, Atlanta Police Public Information Officer John Chafee told CNN.
Police also announced a $ 10,000 reward for information related to the suspects in the Turner shooting, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. The notice said one of the suspects is believed to be wearing all black, while a second was wearing a white T-shirt.
“If you know who is outside … you cannot be silent. Your silence will not protect you,” Bottoms said.
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