2nd man charged in killing of 8-year-old Atlanta girl

ATLANTA (AP) — A second man was charged Wednesday in connection with last summer's shooting death of an 8-year-old Atlanta girl who was killed near the site where police had fatally shot a Black man weeks earlier.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that Jerrion Amari McKinney, 23, of Loganville, was arrested on multiple charges, including murder and 12 gang-related offenses, for the July 4, 2020 slaying of Secoriea Turner. McKinney also faces four counts of aggravated assault and pointing or aiming a gun or pistol at another person.

McKinney's arrest was made with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and the Atlanta Police Department’s Fugitive Unit, said Nelly Miles, a spokesperson for the GBI.

Julian Conley, 20, was arrested last year and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in the shooting. Conley's attorney has said his client was peacefully protesting and witnessed the shooting but did not open fire himself.

Secoriea’s father, Secoriey Williamson, told WSB-TV that every day without his daughter is a painful struggle.

“Our child is supposed to be here with us,” Williamson said. “I had to go to her grave site.”

Turner’s family is suing the city, saying a lack of leadership and protective action led to the little girl's death.

Secoriea was fatally shot in an SUV with her mother and another adult near the Wendy’s restaurant where Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man, was killed by a white police officer on June 12.

Makeshift barricades had been set up in the area after Brooks was killed, and armed men had been blocking roads in the area and turning some drivers away. The SUV Secoriea was in was trying to make a U-turn at one of the barricades when shots were fired into the vehicle, police said. Investigators have said as many as four people opened fire, but until Wednesday, just one person had been charged in the case.

Authorities have not said how they linked McKinney to Turner's shooting or if they’re searching for any more suspects.

Both McKinney and Conley remained held at the Fulton County Jail without bond. McKinney is scheduled for a first appearance hearing in Fulton County Magistrate Court on Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could comment.