Police identified a second person of interest in the shooting death of an 8-year-old on July 4. But the man and his attorney say he should not be considered one.
“At the end of the day, I had nothing to do with it,” Julian Conley told Channel 2′s Tom Jones.
Conley admits he was at the scene off University Avenue the night that Secoreia Turner was shot and killed. Conley said he saw what happened and feels bad about the child losing her life.
“I feel terribly sorry about what happened to Secoriea Turner,” Conley said.
The 19-year-old said he had a weapon on him but he did not shoot anyone and did not open fire that night.
Attorney Jackie Pattersen said his client saw himself on television as a second person of interest in the case.
“The fact that he looked like he’s guilty by showing somebody’s picture on television, he had to set the record straight.”
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Police have been searching for the gunmen who shot Turner near the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was killed. Officers said someone shot in Turner’s mother’s car as they tried to get through an illegal barricade someone had set up.
Pattersen said Conley told him a man driving the car drove through the barricade and hit a man with a rifle.
“And when that person fell to the ground, the person got up and started firing at that vehicle,” the attorney said.
Jones asked Pattersen if he will allow his client to talk to police.
“We have nothing to say to the police. We just want the public to know that this man is innocent,” he said.
Pattersen said his client does not know the shooter’s name. Jones reached out to Atlanta police about Conley’s version of what happened.
Police said they encourage Conley to contact investigators and speak with them regarding the investigation.