An eight-year-old girl has been shot dead in Atlanta after at least two people opened fire on the car she was in.

Secoriea Turner was shot on Saturday night near the Wendy’s restaurant where black man Rayshard Brooks was killed by a white police officer on 12 June.

The restaurant was later burned down and the site has become a place for frequent demonstrations against police brutality.

Metres from where the little girl was shot, one other person was shot dead late on Sunday and two people were injured.

Over the 4 July weekend – which saw Americans celebrate Independence Day – several other children also lost their lives in shootings.

According to officials, Secoriea was in the car with her mother and another adult when the driver attempted to pass through illegally placed barricades. They were trying to get into a car park, but the entrance was blocked by armed individuals.

Someone in the group opened fire on the car, hitting it multiple times and striking the child.

The driver took Secoriea to Atlanta Medical Centre but she did not survive.

Charmaine Turner, her mother, tearfully said: “We understand the frustration of Rayshard Brooks, we understand.

“We ain’t got nothing to do with that, we’re innocent. We didn’t mean no harm, my baby didn’t mean no harm.

“She ain’t gonna make her ninth birthday, we ain’t doing anything.

“They say Black Lives Matter. You killed your own, you killed your own this time.”

Police have released a wanted poster announcing a $10,000 (£7,900) reward for information as Atlanta’s mayor urged people to come forward.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said: “I am asking you to please honour this baby’s life. Please, if you know who did this, please turn them in.

“Enough is enough. We have talked about this movement that is happening across America at this moment in time when we have the ears and the interest of people across this country and across this globe who are saying they want to see change.

“We are doing each other more harm than any police officer on this force. We’ve had over 75 shootings in the city over the past several weeks. You can’t blame that on APD (Atlanta Police Department).”

In Chicago, a seven-year-old girl was fatally shot in the head on Saturday evening while playing with other children on the footpath of her grandmother’s house after three people in a car got out and opened fire.

A 14-year-old boy and three men died in a separate Chicago shooting after four men opened fire on a large street gathering just before midnight on Saturday.

In Washington DC, 11-year-old Davon McNeal was killed on Saturday night after a group of five young men began shooting as he jumped out of the car to grab a phone charger from his aunt’s house.

Police in Washington announced a $25,000 (£19,800) reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

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