Atlanta mayor airs frustrations after 8-year-old is killed: 'You can't blame this on a police officer'

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms expressed her frustration with violence in her city after an 8-year-old girl was shot and killed, saying that criminal community members are doing more damage to the city than the police officers that have been so vehemently protested against, according to The Daily Wire.

What happened? Secoriea Turner, 8, was killed on Saturday after a group of people shot at the car she was in—not far from the Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed by Atlanta Police Department officers on June 12. That Wendy's was burned down after Brooks' death, and has reportedly been occupied by protesters since then.

Brooks' death led to more protests in Atlanta, as the city and the nation were already on edge with racial tension after the death of George Floyd. The officer who shot Brooks has been charged with felony murder.

What did Bottoms say? "We've talked a lot about what we are demanding from our officers in our communities," Bottoms said. "We've protested, we've demonstrated, we've been angry, we've cried, we've demanded action. Well now we're demanding action for Secoriea Turner and for all the other people who were shot in Atlanta last night and over the past few weeks, because the reality is this: These aren't police officers shooting people on the streets of Atlanta, these are members of the community shooting each other, and in this case, it is the worst possible outcome."

"You can't blame this on a police officer, you can't say this is about criminal justice reform," said Bottoms. "This is about some people carrying some weapons who shot up a car with an 8-year-old baby in the car. We got to stop this. We are doing more harm than any police officer on this force."

About Keisha Bottoms: The Atlanta mayor is reportedly in consideration as a vice presidential candidate for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who is under pressure to pick a female running mate—particularly a minority female. Bottoms has been a loyal Biden supporter this election cycle, even when his campaign seemed to be a lost cause after some early primary disappointments.