At least six children under the age of 11 were killed in shootings in cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, and San Francisco over the Independence Day holiday weekend.
In Atlanta, eight-year-old Secoriea Turner was shot and killed Saturday when a group opened fire on a car she was in near a Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed by police in June.
Turner’s mother attempted to pull into a parking lot, but the area was cordoned off following weeks of protests and riots. A group then approached the car and opened fire on them, according to police.
JUST IN: We just got these photos of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner, who was killed last night near the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks died: https://t.co/U2niKwoxXF pic.twitter.com/GI9zpSlbLl
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) July 5, 2020
“They say black lives matter,” Turner’s father said during a press conference this weekend. “You killed your own. You killed your own this time. … They killed my baby because she crossed the barrier and made a U-turn. You killed a child. She didn’t do nothing to nobody,” he said.
In Alabama, another 8-year-old, Royta De’Marco Giles, died by gunfire in a mall.
The boy was an “innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire” when two groups opened fire on each other in a mall in Hoover, according to the Hoover Police Department.
“Our hearts are simply broken at the tragic loss of Giles. We are here for the family in every way possible, and we ask that everyone lifts the mother, family, and our school community in your prayers. This is tough,” Bessemer City Schools Superintendent Dr. Autumm Jeter told CNN.
A 6-year-old boy, Jace Young, was shot and killed in San Francisco while watching fireworks for the Fourth of July on Saturday night.
#SanFrancisco | The family of 6-year-old #JaceYoung who was shot and killed while watching fireworks on July 4th in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood is asking for justice.
Full story:⬇️https://t.co/pGqPzLzZh0 @abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/bthM3ObsQU
— Luz Peña (@LuzPenaABC7) July 7, 2020
In Chicago, 7-year-old Natalia Wallace was fatally shot on Saturday as she and others were playing outside during a Fourth of July party. A group of people reportedly exited a vehicle and opened fire on the party.
Seven-year-old Natalia Wallace, fatally shot in Chicago on Saturday, was described as “very quiet and sweet.” At the end of each e-learning session, she would type “I love you” in the chat box, her teacher at Crown Community Academy of Fine Arts said. https://t.co/LRArDYhK4O
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) July 5, 2020
“Tonight, a 7-year-old girl in Austin joined a list of teenagers and children whose hopes and dreams were ended by the barrel of a gun,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a Saturday statement on Twitter.
She had just finished first grade, and her family described her as “sweet, shy, loving, and good at math.”
Reginald Merrill, 33, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery for the death.
An 11-year-old boy in Washington, D.C., Davon McNeal, died when he ran into a family member’s home to get a phone charger and was struck by gunfire after an anti-violence cookout on Saturday, according to his family. His grandfather, John Ayala, who founded the D.C. chapter of the Guardian Angels and is an advocate against gun violence, told reporters that the boy’s mother heard the gunshots and saw her son dive onto the ground.
She then saw blood and realized he had been struck in the head.
This is Davon McNeal, the 11-year-old boy shot and killed last night in Southeast DC. The boy’s grandfather shared these photos with FOX 5 https://t.co/Ubgug4EsTx pic.twitter.com/wbgQiYhhZ1
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) July 5, 2020
“She saw he was hit in the head,” Ayala said. “His mom was just crying, ‘My baby! They took my baby!'”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a $25,000 reward for information on those responsible for his death.
A 6-year-old boy died in Philadelphia in what was likely an accidental shooting. He died Sunday afternoon in the Upper Holmesburg neighborhood after he was shot in the left side of his chest. Police are investigating the circumstances.
Gun violence also affected a 6-year-old girl in New York City who witnessed her father get shot and killed while they held hands in the Bronx.
Officers from the 44th Precinct responded to a report of a man who was shot at Sheridan Avenue and East 170th Street in the Bronx, NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said.
Surveillance footage obtained during the investigation shows the victim, identified as Anthony Robinson, holding his young daughter’s hand as they cross an intersection. A car then pulls up, and a gunman opens fire on Robinson as his daughter flees.
On Sunday, July 5th, police officers from the 44th Precinct responded to a 911 call for a male shot at Sheridan Avenue and East 170th Street. pic.twitter.com/kiEmmJfuEW
— Chief Rodney Harrison (@NYPDDetectives) July 6, 2020
Cities across the country have seen an uptick in gun violence in recent weeks amid protests denouncing systemic racism and police brutality, some of which have spun out into riots. Chicago and New York City are two of the most notable cities grappling with bloodshed.
Chicago police have reported a spike in murders and shootings this year compared with 2019. Shootings increased by 71% in May compared with the year before, with 409 people shot. Murders were up 60%, with 85 reported.
In New York City, law enforcement sources told the New York Post in June that murders and shootings were much higher than in the same period last year. There were 13 murders between June 1 and June 7, with 40 reported shootings. There were five murders and 24 shootings during the same time period in 2019.
