Five months after young Secoriea Turner’s shooting death, suspects apparently remain at large.
Investigators have said as many as four people opened fire in the shooting that killed Secoriea on July 4 near the burned out Atlanta Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks died in a police shooting weeks earlier. Only one arrest has been made in her case. The Atlanta Police Department declined to answer questions on the case Monday.
“The investigation continues,” a police department spokesman said simply.
Secoriea was 8. Her death is one of 144 homicides the Atlanta Police Department has investigated this year, the most since 2003, records show.
In mid-October, attorneys representing Secoriea’s survivors gave the city 30 days to engage in settlement negotiations or face a $16 million lawsuit.
“They knew that at least on two other occasions people had been shot,” Turner family attorney Mawuli Davis said at a news conference last month to announce the possible litigation. “They knew there were armed vigilantes blockading a public street, and they took no action.”
As of Monday, no suit had been filed. The lawyers and city officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Secoriea died at the hands of shooters who’d blocked the road near the burned-out Wendy’s where Brooks was killed by an Atlanta police officer. Garrett Rolfe was subsequently fired and charged with murder.
After Brooks’ June 12 shooting death, protesters camped out at the restaurant site, calling for an end to police killings of Black people. People with guns manned an unauthorized checkpoint in the road, threatening passersby and menacing police.
City officials didn’t take action to remove the protesters until after Secoriea was shot when the car she was riding in encountered the roadblock. The scorched building was razed after the child’s death.
The only suspect charged in the case is Julian Conley, 19. Conley, who is accused of aggravated assault and felony murder, has said he only witnessed the shooting. Records showed he remained in jail without bond Monday and had no scheduled court dates.
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