The shooting death of an 8-year-old girl in Atlanta prompted a $US10,000 reward for information as authorities searched for at least two people who opened fire on the car she was riding in near a flashpoint of recent protests.
Police identified the girl killed on Saturday night as Secoriea Turner.
The developments came as police investigated another deadly shooting in the area late Sunday, yards away from where Secoriea was shot, news outlets reported. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, and two others were injured.
A few hours before that shooting, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called for justice in Secoriea's death during an emotional news conference with the girl's grief-stricken mother.
“You shot and killed a baby,” the mayor said. “And there wasn’t just one shooter, there were at least two shooters.”
The shooting happened near the Wendy’s restaurant where a Black man, Rayshard Brooks, was killed by a white police officer on June 12. The fast food outlet was later burned, and the area has since become a site for frequent demonstrations against police brutality.
Authorities said Secoriea was in the car with her mother and another adult when the driver attempted to drive through illegally placed barricades to get to a parking lot in the area Saturday night. A group of armed individuals had blocked the entrance.
Police said in a statement that someone in the group opened fire on the vehicle, striking it multiple times and striking the child. The driver took Secoriea to Atlanta Medical Centre but she did not survive.
Police were seeking help from the public to identify those involved and released a wanted poster announcing the $10,000 reward.
The mayor urged anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
“An 8-year-old girl was killed last night because her mother was riding down the street,” Bottoms said. “If Secoriea was not safe last night, none of us are safe.”
The mayor said the city's 911 system was flooded with calls Saturday night and mentioned that protesters had damaged Georgia State Patrol headquarters in Atlanta in a separate incident early Sunday.
Before the shooting late Sunday, Atlanta police had said two other people, in addition to the 8-year-old, were killed and more than 20 people were injured in incidents of gunfire and violence during the long holiday weekend.
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