“The deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the riots caused by the murder of George Floyd, the escalation of poverty, the summer heat and a flood of illegal weapons have created a toxic mix of despair in our city, and we must tackle it” Darrell L. Clarke said. , said the president of the City Council, in a statement on Monday.
In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency on Monday, saying that weeks of intense crime and riots had sparked a sense of lawlessness in the capital. It has mobilized up to 1,000 Georgia National Guard troops and has asked state law enforcement agencies to increase their patrols in Atlanta.
“The peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous and destructive agenda. Now innocent Georgians are under attack, shot and left for dead, “Kemp, a Republican, said in a statement, adding:” Enough talking hard. We must protect the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians. “
At least four other children were killed across the country over the holiday weekend. On Saturday, an 11-year-old boy, Davon McNeal, died in Washington, DC, after he was shot in the head when a group of men started shooting on the street near a July 4 cookout, they said. The authorities. A 4-year-old boy in St. Louis County, Missouri, also died Saturday of a gunshot wound to the head; Authorities said it could have been hit by a stray bullet.
Royta Giles Jr., 8, died Friday in a shooting at a shopping center in Hoover, Alabama, outside Birmingham, police said. The Bessemer, Alabama school district said Royta was a rising third-grade student and, in a statement, described him as “a smart kid, a gem, with big dreams of one day entering the metalworking industry.” music”.
In Chicago, Natalia Wallace, 7, was shot dead while playing outside her grandmother’s home, authorities said. She was among the nine children who had been killed since June 20 when the city’s problems with gun violence erupted in recent weeks, and activists and officials described a wave of anger and despair over Chicago.
“Think about the number of children who have been killed in the past two weeks,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot before the holiday weekend. “Families that will not recover from this difficulty. The hearts of the mothers who are broken, the hearts of the fathers who are destroyed, the grandparents who live in mourning. “
