Six Children Killed Across the Nation Over Fourth of July Weekend

At least six children ranging from ages 6 to 14 have been killed in shootings across the country over Fourth of July weekend.

Secoriea Turner, 8, was in a car with her mother and another individual who was trying to pull into a parking lot in Atlanta — near where Rayshard Brooks died — when someone opened fire on the vehicle, according to a report by CNN.

Police said that someone had placed illegal barricades in the area.

“They say ‘black lives matter,’ you killed your own,” said Secoriea’s father Secoriya Williamson. “They killed my baby because she crossed the barrier and made a U-turn, you killed a child.”

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is asking for those with information about the incident to come forward, offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who can provide more information in the case.

The report added that on Friday in Hoover, Alabama, eight-year-old Royta De’Marco Giles was shot and killed while inside the Riverchase Galleria mall when a gunfight broke out between a group of men.

The young boy — who had just finished second grade — was one of four “innocent bystanders caught in the cross fire,” according to the Hoover Police Department.

On Saturday, 11-year-old Davon McNeal was shot and killed in Southeast Washington, DC, when five men began shooting at around 9:30 p.m., according to police.

“His mom was just crying, ‘My baby! They took my baby!’” said McNeal’s grandfather, John Ayala, who added that the boy had been caught in the gunfire after getting out of a car to run into his aunt’s house to grab a phone charger.

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for McNeal’s death.

In Chicago, seven-year-old Natalia Wallace — who was playing in a yard in the city’s Austin neighborhood — was shot and killed after three individuals got out of a car and started firing shots at a group gathered outside, said police.

Natalia, who had just finished the first grade, was “sweet, shy, loving, and good at math,” her family told WBBM.

“Kids outside playing, they shouldn’t have to worry about guns and people shooting,” added Natalia’s father, Nathan Wallace.

The report added that a 14-year-old was also killed in Chicago on July 4 in a separate shooting.

And on Saturday in San Francisco, California, police found a six-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound after receiving a call about gunfire at around 10:44 p.m. that night.

“Senseless violence like this that could so tragically claim the life of a small child is unacceptable in our City, and the San Francisco Police Department stands with the Bayview Hunter’s Point community in its determination to bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice,” said Chief of Police William Scott in a statement.

The statement added that no arrests have been made and there is no available description of the suspect.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.