Atlanta police release video of person of interest in shooting death of 8-year-old girl

ATLANTA — Atlanta police released new video and surveillance photos from its investigation into the shooting death of an 8-year-old girl.

Secoriea Turner was shot while riding in a car with her mother and her mother’s friend Saturday night.

The shooting happened not far from the Wendy’s on University Avenue where Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed last month.

The video shows a black man in a white shirt carrying what police identified as an AR-15. Lt. Pete Malecki said the man is just one of several persons of interest in the case.

“We believe there is going to be a minimum of three additional suspects. That number could change,” he said. “Although we have a lot of work to identify the remaining individuals responsible, this is the first step in that process.”

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Investigators said Turner was riding in a Jeep Cherokee Saturday night when the driver tried to get around a “makeshift roadblock that was manned by numerous armed individuals.”

Malecki said they believe the shots were fired intentionally into the car.

At a news conference Sunday, Turner’s mother said that her daughter died in her arms.

“She was only 8 years old,” Charmaine Turner said. “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.”

Secoriya Williamson, Secoriea’s father, also spoke out.

“They say black lives matter,” Williamson said. “You killed your own this time. You killed a child. She didn’t do nothing to nobody.”

Police are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to Secoriea’s killers. Information can be submitted anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.StopCrimeATL.com.

[RELATED: Police search for shooter who killed 8-year-old girl near burned Wendy’s]

Hours following the police news conference, the community came together for a prayer vigil.

Prayer vigil held as calls for justice pour in for 8-year-old girl killed in shooting Channel 2's Matt Johnson attend the vigil for 8-year-old Secoriea Turner, who was shot and killed on Fourth of July.

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