An Atlanta teen who is a suspect in the killing of an eight-year-old turned himself in to the authorities on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
Julian Conley, the 19-year-old from Atlanta, Georgia, currently faces a murder charge and an aggravated assault charge in connection to the death of Secoriea Turner, the eight-year-old who was shot on July 4, according to Fox News.
Currently, Conley is being held at the Fulton County jail, according to the news outlet.
Jackie Patterson, Conley’s attorney, told the news outlet that Conley had been at the scene where the shooting occurred for peaceful protesting, and happened to witness the shooting. Patterson stated that though Conley was carrying a firearm with him at the time, Conley did not shoot at the girl nor the car.
Patterson also said that Conley alleged that there were around three to four people who fired at the car, according to CNN. Police investigators have said they believe two males were the shooters in the deadly incident, according to the news outlet.
“When that person started shooting, somebody thought that a person inside the car was shooting back so that’s when three other individuals fired upon the car,” Patterson said, according to Fox News.
Patterson also said that Conley did not know who the other shooters were, the New York Times reported.
“He does not know these people by name or have any affiliation with them. The police don’t have anyone else they can charge, so they decided to charge my client,” Patterson said.
Secoriea Turner was in the vehicle along with her mother and another family friend when she was shot and killed.
Prior to the shooting, the three of them just came back from setting off fireworks for the fourth of July, according to Mawuli Davis, Secoriea Turner’s family lawyer.
However, the vehicle that they were in happened upon a makeshift roadblock that was guarded by various armed individuals. Later, as the driver of the vehicle tried to go around the roadblock via a U-turn, the vehicle was shot at, Fox 6 Now reported.
According to the New York Times, Secoriea Turner was taken to the Atlanta Medical Center. However, despite receiving treatment from the hospital, Secoriea Turner did not survive her injuries.
Following Secoriea Turner’s death, authorities have turned to the public for help to catch the person responsible. They are offered a $20,000 reward for information. Private donors have added $30,000 in reward money.
