Atlanta cops have released surveillance video of a man carrying an AR-15 who is wanted for questioning in connection with the fatal shooti...
Atlanta cops have released surveillance video of a man carrying an AR-15 who is wanted for questioning in connection with the fatal shooting of an eight-year-old girl.
Police shared the footage to find the armed man who was near the scene when Secoriea Turner was shot dead on July 4 during protests outside the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed.
Secoriea was killed when gunmen opened fire on her mother's SUV while she was trying to drive through an illegal roadblock set up by protesters.
The Atlanta Police Department are now searching for four suspects for questioning in connection with the slaying during a weekend of violence across the city and the rest of the US.
It prompted the city's mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, to tell Black Lives Matter protesters that 'enough is enough' following weeks of tension after Brooks was shot and killed by a white cop on June 12.
The Atlanta Police Department on Tuesday released this short clip that shows a gunman carrying AR-15 near the scene where Secoriea Turner, 8, was shot on Saturday
Secoriea (left) was riding in the back of her mother's SUV when they encountered an illegal roadblock and tried to go through it. Police say gunmen immediately opened fire
Video from the scene of the shooting shows people running for cover after gunmen opened fire
The video shows a man in a white T-shirt, black pants and sneakers carrying an AR-15 assault rifle in the area of University Avenue and Pryor Road.
Atlanta police Lt. Pete Malecki told reporters on Tuesday that investigators believe the shots were fired intentionally at Charmaine Turner's 2016 Jeep Cherokee when it crossed a barricade manned by a group of armed individuals.
The Wendy's - which was burned down in protests after Brooks' killing - has since become a site for demonstrations against police brutality and has been patrolled by people carrying guns.
Turner's vehicle was struck by at least eight rounds. The child was rushed to Atlanta Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead.
Malecki said police are searching for at least three additional persons of interest besides the man in the video in connection in the third-grader's killing.
The Atlanta police lieutenant also revealed that there is no evidence to suggest that the gunmen opened fire on Turner's SUV in self-defense.
'She was only 8 years old,' said her mother. '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.'
Secoriea's shooting took place near the Wendy's restaurant parking lot where Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by a white police officer on June 12. The eatery was burned the next day
An armed protester awaits the casket of Rayshard Brooks to pass by the area where he was killed near a Wendy's restaurant on June 23 in Atlanta
The girl 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.'
The child was shot near the Wendy's eatery that was set on fire the night after Brooks' death at the hands of a white police officer on June 12, and the site had become a focus of frequent demonstrations against police brutality.
At least intermittently, armed people had manned a barricade on the street in front of the Wendy's.
Police had removed barricades at least once before, but one journalist was assaulted near the site and gunmen threatened or turned back other people. Atlanta police helped sanitation crews clear the area Monday, despite some protesters who said they were not part of the violence.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Sunday held an emotional press conference that was attended by Secoriea's grieving mother, Charmaine (seen seated)
Charmaine Turner said of her daughter that she was just eight years old and had nothing to do with the killing of Rayshard Brooks
Secoriea's family have described the eight-year-old as a star student who loved playing with her phone. She is survived by her parents and two brothers
A cash reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the Turner case has now been increased from $10,000 to $20,000.
'I’m confident that somebody knows the name of this man,' Malecki said, pointing to the unnamed person of interest brandishing the AR-15 in the video who is wanted for questioning. 'It's an opportunity to do the right thing.'
According to the description of a GoFundMe campaign launched by Charmaine Turner, Secoriea, the youngest of her three children, was a star student at Kipp Academy who loved spending time with her family, including her two brothers, ages seven and 10, and playing with her phone.
'She loved the simple things in life and now her life has been taken,' her mother wrote. 'This tragedy has caused tremendous hurt and indescribable pain as we look to put the pieces to our lives back together and seek justice for our little girl.'
Secoriea was one of two dozen people who were shot in Atlanta over the Fourth of July weekend, five of them fatally, including the eight-year-old.
The outbreak of gun violence on Sunday prompted Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to declare, 'Enough is enough.'
'You can’t blame this on a police officer,' the mayor said during an emotional press conference. 'You can’t say this about criminal justice reform. This is about some people carrying some weapons who shot up a car with an 8-year-old baby in the car for what?'
Surveillance video released by GBI shows Rayshard Brooks (circled, right) fleeing towards the right hand side of the image as he is pursued by two officers on June 12
In the wake of the shootings, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency and authorized the activation of up to 1,000 National Guard troops.
'Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda. Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead,' the Republican governor said. 'This lawlessness must be stopped and order restored in our capital city.'
But Mayor Lance Bottoms said Kemp issued his order without asking if the city needed help.
The city had already been coordinating with the Georgia State Patrol, and 'at no time was it mentioned that anyone felt there was a need for the National Guard to come in,' she said on ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday.
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