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16 Children Have Been Shot, Some Killed, In Cities Across The US As Violence Spikes

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Daily Caller

Marlo Safi Culture Reporter
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As protests continue in many cities, gun violence has surged. 

After the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes May 25, many cities that were engulfed with riots have also seen record numbers of shooting victims.

Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant told reporters that 2020’s July 4 weekend was the “most violent weekend” that he could “recall,” with 16 homicides in June marking a record in violence not seen since 2003.

In New York City, shootings surged by more than 358% in mid-June when compared to the same time in 2019. Unfortunately, the violent streak continued into July.

Many of those victims were the most innocent among us — children who were shot and injured or killed, often while playing outside or at a celebration or holiday cookout.

One child was shot near the scene of protests over the death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. “Black lives matter … killing your own,” Secoriya Williamson, the child’s father, said after his 8-year-old child’s death over Independence Day weekend. “You killed an 8-year-old child. She ain’t do nothing to not one of ya’ll, she just wanted to get home to see her cousin.”

As calls for reform continue coming from cities that saw large protests — Atlanta, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, D.C. — at least 16 children have been senselessly shot in wanton violence.

This list was compiled by searching reports of children (the legal definition) who were shot in several cities that have experienced a recent surge in crime.

Atlanta

Secoriea Turner, 8-year-old girl: Turner was shot and killed on the Fourth of July after at least two people in a crowd opened fire on the car she was in with her mother and her mother’s friend.

“She was only 8 years old,” Charmaine Turner, the young girl’s mother said during a press conference, adding that her child died in her arms. “She would have been on TikTok dancing on her phone, just got done eating. We understand the frustration of Rayshard Brooks. We didn’t have anything to do with that. We’re innocent. My baby didn’t mean no harm.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms ordered the area where Turner was shot be shut down, declaring that “it’s over.” “This discussion, this mediation, and … it’s over. At a point where an 8-year-old baby is killed, the discussions have ended,” Bottoms said. (RELATED: ‘They Say Black Lives Matter. You Killed Your Own’: Father Of 8-Year-Old Shot And Killed Speaks Out Against Violent Protesters)

New York City

Unidentified, 7-year-old girl: A 7-year-old girl was grazed in the leg June 25 after teens began fighting at a nearby street corner in East Harlem. The child was not thought to be the intended target, and is expected to survive. 

Treshawn, 11-year-old boy: An 11-year-old boy was shot during a drive-by shooting June 30 while playing outside his home in Flatbush. He was shot in the leg and was not the intended target, investigators said according to ABC 7. “They drive fast and shoot, man, that’s all the little babies,” Terrence Solomon, the boy’s grandfather said. “They’re little kids, nobody big out here.”

Unidentified, 14-year-old: A 14-year old was shot in the neck and back in Queens Monday and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Police are searching for 2 suspects.

Unidentified 15-year-old: A 15-year old was shot in the chest in East Harlem June 5. It is unclear what led to the shooting and the victim’s condition is unknown. The shooting occurred the same day that New York had 23 shootings and 43 victims in a 9-hour time span Sunday, killing at least 9 people, according to ABC 7.

Unidentified 15-year-old: A 15-year-old was shot once while at a graduation party in Shoelace Park the Bronx on June 12. The victim was in stable condition as of June 14.

Unidentified 16-year-old: A 16-year-old was shot once while at the same graduation party as the aforementioned 15-year-old in the Bronx. Victim was also in stable condition. 

Brandon Hendricks, 17-year-old: Hendricks was shot and killed June 28 in the Bronx just days after graduating high school. He was at a barbecue and was allegedly shot by Najhim Luke, who was charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon. Hendricks was an unintended target and was planning on starting college at St. John’s, ABC 7 reported. 

“We have to stand and bury one of our own because of one of our own, that’s unacceptable and it’s unsustainable,” community activist Kirsten John Foy said.

“You took away my life, you have no idea what you did to me,” Eve Hendricks, the boy’s mother, said during a vigil “My son has my heart. Nobody knows how I feel, I don’t know how I feel.”

Philadelphia

Unidentified, 6-year-old boy: A 6-year-old boy died after he was shot in the chest July 5. Police have not revealed what led to the shooting, or whether the boy shot himself or was shot by someone else.

Unidentified, 11-year-old girl: An 11-year-old girl was grazed by a bullet to the right hip after a gunman opened fire in southwest Philadelphia Saturday. She was treated at the scene and is in stable condition.

Angelo Walker, 15-years-old: Walker was shot once in the head Saturday and later died at the hospital. The boy was a high school student athlete on the football team.

Rahim, 15-year-old: Rahim was shot 17 times June 22 outside a store where he was stopping to get food after playing basketball with his friends. Rahim was expected to participate in a career development program to stop similar violence, according to ABC 7. It’s unclear what his condition was following the shooting, but him and his friend who was also shot were hospitalized. 

Unidentified, 17-year-old: A 17-year-old boy was shot in the buttock in west Philadelphia and was in stable condition as of Saturday.

Seattle (Capitol Hill Organized Protest, CHOP)

Antonio Mays Jr., 16-year-old: Mays was shot and killed in a shooting near the Seattle CHOP June 30. Mays was shot after driving his Jeep Cherokee near the barriers of the CHOP, where witnesses said they saw several people begin to fire into the vehicle, according to the NY Post.

Unidentified, 14-year-old: A 14-year-old was also critically wounded during the shooting. 

Washington, D.C.

Davon McNeal, 11-year-old: McNeal was shot and killed in Southeast D.C. on the Forth of July after police say a group of five males opened fire, shooting McNeal in the head and then fleeing by vehicle. The boy was stopping by at a cookout to pick up items for a cell phone. 

“He was a good kid,” McNeal’s grandfather Tony Lawson told Fox 5. “I mean, his life gone. Eleven-years-old, he hadn’t lived his life yet, 11-years-old. We got to stop killing each other. Stop it. Put the guns down.”