Parents of girl killed in 2020 Atlanta riots announce scholarship in daughter’s name

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The parents of Secoriea Turner, the toddler shot and killed during a summer of unrest following the 2020 deaths of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, announced Friday they have established a scholarship in their daughter’s name.

“Secoriea dreamed of going to Spelman,” her mother Charmaine Turner said.

The eight-year-old was killed in July 2020. Lawlessness had taken over an area near a burned-out Wendy’s restaurant — the same Wendy’s where a police officer shot and killed Brooks. Arsonists eventually set the restaurant on fire, and a mob of armed and violent protesters took over the area, controlling who was allowed in and out.

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According to a complaint filed by the family, the city and its police did little to stop the mob.

Turner and her daughter were in a friend’s car one night as they tried to get home when they ran into a barricade. Someone in the crowd opened fire on the vehicle, killing Secoriea.

The two men arrested in the case have yet to be tried four years later, and the lawsuit against the city and Wendy’s remains tied up in court.

“We have to keep moving forward,” said Secoriea’s father, Secoriea Williamson. “So we decided to help another child and create a foundation in his name.”

“By helping a young woman go to college, I feel like it’s a positive way to keep our daughter’s spirit alive,” Charmaine said.

Within minutes of the official announcement, representatives from Black Men Lab and Let Us Make Men each announced $2,500 in donations. Additional donations followed from Saint Paul AME Church, a local foundation, and even one of the parents’ attorneys.

“On behalf of my new grandson, I plan to pay the equivalent of $2,500,” attorney Harold Spence said, prompting smiles from Secoriea’s parents.

The family hopes that the scholarship will be awarded each year to a young woman who wishes to pursue a career in criminal justice. Click here if you would like to donate.

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