Mother pleads for suspects to come forward in young girl's death
ATLANTA - The mother of Secoriea Turner, the young girl who was shot and killed in Atlanta on July 4 by armed protesters at the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed three weeks prior, renewed her plea to find her daughter's killer.
According to police, the child was riding in a Jeep with her mother and an adult friend when they turned off the Downtown Connector onto University Avenue slightly before 10 p.m. Protestors had recently erected illegal barricades, according to authorities, encircling the nearby Wendy's.
When the driver attempted to enter a liquor store parking lot on the 1200 block of Pryor Road, police say he was confronted by a group of armed individuals who had blocked the entrance. Authorities said at least two men fired multiple times at the vehicle, hitting Turner.
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After the shooting, Turner's family drove straight to Atlanta Medical Center, where they met police officers and she died following treatment.
Authorities were notified of the resurrected blockages less than an hour before the shooting. APD said they had planned on checking out the area but were swamped with other pressing 911 calls.
While police said they have arrested one of the men, the second suspect remains at large. Atlanta police said they have no new information to release in the case.
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Turner's mother said Christmas will never be the same because of the death of the young girl, who would be 9 years old now. Secoriea's mother, and her attorney, Charmaine Turner, made a public appeal on Friday, about 5 months after the deadly shooting and a week before Christmas. A homicide support group, GRIEVES, joined the plea for leads in the case.
A new public service announcement spot will air on Comcast channels in Fulton County that celebrates her life and to remind the public, the case is not closed.
Julian Conley, 19, remains in the Fulton County jail charged with two counts of aggravated assault and murder.
Turner's family plans to sue the city for failing to remove armed protesters who had taken over the intersection. They are also seeking an additional $4 million for property damage and injuries sustained by Turner's mother and her mother's boyfriend.
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