Georgia declares state of emergency and authorises deployment of National Guard after violent weekend

Eight-year-old girl among several people killed during holiday violence in Atlanta

Alex Woodward
New York
Monday 06 July 2020 18:11 BST
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Atlanta mayor says 'enough is enough' after 8-year-old shot dead

Georgia governor Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency after more than 30 people were injured and five people — including an 8-year-old girl — were killed during a violent 4 July weekend.

The Republican governor’s order authorises the state to deploy National Guard troops to support state buildings, Confederate monuments and statues honouring segregationists, and the governor’s mansion, after he threatened Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to “take action” amid growing unrest.

Governor Kemp appeared to blame ongoing Black Lives Matter demonstrations for the shootings, though activists and organisers, outraged by violence, have condemned both the shootings and attempts by officials and law enforcement to connect them to the spree.

“Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda,” Governor Kemp said in a statement. ”Now innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot and left for dead.”

On Sunday, the mayor pleaded with residents to stop the “random wild wild West shoot-’em-up” that led to the shooting death of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner.

“You shot and killed a baby, and it wasn’t one shooter. There were at least two shooters. An 8-year-old baby. And you want people to take us seriously. And you don’t want us to lose this movement, then we can’t lose each other in this,” she said during an emotional press conference on 5 July. “There are peaceful demonstrators across this city and across this country, and I applaud them and I thank them for being peaceful and for honouring the lives of so many people who have been killed in America because of injustice.”

Protests across the US in the wake of police killings of black Americans have also gripped Atlanta for more than a month. Following the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Garrett Rolfe, a white police officer, fatally shot Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old black man, in the back while he ran from a Wendy’s restaurant parking lot and fired a Taser behind him on 12 June.

Early on Sunday, a small group of protesters broke into and damaged a Georgia State Patrol building, sparking flames inside with fireworks.

The governor said his order “will allow troops to protect state property and dispatch state law enforcement officers to patrol our streets”.

“Enough with the tough talk,” he said. “We must protect the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians.”

The shooting death of Secoriea Taylor took place at the near the Wendy’s where Mr Brooks was killed, according to police. The area has served as a memorial for vigils and a site of protests in recent weeks. Activists have aspired to turn the site — where the restaurant was burned down — into the Rayshard Brooks Peace Centre, which could host job training, youth programmes and other services.

On Saturday, Secoriea’s mother Charmaine Turner allegedly drove her car around an illegally placed barricade where they were met by a group of armed people at the parking lot, according to police, though residents have disputed the account. At least one person fired into the car.

The city has announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

“We didn’t mean no harm,” Ms Turner said during a press conference on Sunday. “My baby didn’t mean no harm. Somebody knows something.”

Demonstrators who have organised memorials at the site have condemned the shooting and stressed that no one from the group was involved.

“We too mourn the loss of a life gone too soon,” organisers said in a statement. “To the family, we stand with you and are here for you. We wish to make clear that no one from our group was involved in any way ... None of our activists, community members or neighbours were involved.”

Organisers said that “although our hearts are broken by another loss in the black community ... it only affirms the urgent need for healing and peace in this community as we continue to be targets of trauma and violence.”

On Monday, workers began clearing the parking lot, full of stuffed toys, candles, posters, flowers and notes to memorialise the victims.

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