8-Year-Old Slain Near BLM Protest

The mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, called for her constituents to end that bloodshed that has accompanied weeks of intense protests in the city. The tipping point was the death of an 8-year-old African American child over the Fourth of July weekend.

Secoriea Turner was riding with her mother when at least two people opened fire on her vehicle. The car mistakenly crossed a makeshift barrier that protesters had constructed. As her car entered the crowded protest zone, several of the people there began shooting at the car. The mayor said that there had previously been problems with protesters erecting barricades to control segments of the city.

The shooting happened near the Wendy’s restaurant where Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by Atlanta police some weeks ago, sparking renewed outrage and violent protests. Brooks, unlike George Floyd, had physically attacked the officers and stolen one of their Tasers before he was shot. The mayor of the city condemned the officers and sympathized with angry citizens, but now seems to be changing her tone.

“Enough is Enough”

Holding back tears, Mayor Bottoms expressed her intense frustration with the violence that has often hijacked the message of the Black Lives Matter protesters, culminating in the tragic loss of 8-year-old Secoriea.

“Enough is enough… The difference in this moment in time with the civil rights movement — the civil rights movement, there was a defined, common enemy. We're fighting the enemy within when we are shooting each other up on our streets. You shot and killed a baby. And there wasn’t just one shooter; there were at least two shooters. An eight-year-old baby. If you want people to take us seriously, and you don't want us to lose this movement, then we can't lose each other.”

Brooks is considered a possible VP selection for Joe Biden’s campaign. Biden has indicated that he will limit his selection pool to women of color.

Father: “You Killed Your Own”

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Secoriea’s father, Secoriya Williamson, made a powerful public statement following his 8-year-old daughter’s passing.

“They say Black Lives Matter. You killed your own,” Williamson told the media in a televised address. “They killed my baby because she crossed a barrier and made a U-turn? You killed a child. She didn't do nothing to nobody. Black Lives Matter? You killing your own. You killed an eight-year-old child. She ain't did nothing to no one of y'all. She just wanted to get home to see her cousin. That's all she wanted to do.”

Violence Surging Across the Country

Atlanta’s surging violence reflects a national trend. Across the country, crime rates, especially murders, have been rising. Urban areas, faced with reduced police activity, are contending with emboldened criminals.

Commentator Matt Walsh summed up the contradiction of the Black Lives Matter Movement, as well as the effects of anti-police action in Atlanta.

“Police shot 9 unarmed black people all of last year. 25 people were shot just in Atlanta. Yesterday.”

The statement speaks not only the contradiction in Atlanta but also the misplaced frustrations of protesters all over the United States.

Up Next:

• Retired St. Louis Police Captain Gets Killed by Looter During Protest
• No Arrests in Shooting in Seattle Protest Zone that Killed 1
• One Dead, One in Critical Condition in Early Morning Shooting at Capitol Hill Protest Zone Known as CHOP