Tyler Perry is once again lending his moral and financial support to a grieving family as the entertainment mogul announced that he’d pay for the funeral of an Atlanta girl who was fatally shot. Secoriea Turner died by gunfire on Saturday near the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was killed by police last month.
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The Madea filmmaker told People exclusively in an interview published Wednesday that he did not see the need to “choose” where his compassion goes.
“When so many Black people like George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks were killed I was outraged and did what I could to help their families. When a white police officer was shot in the head trying to stop a shoplifter in a suburb outside of Atlanta I was outraged and I did what I could to help him and his family,” he said.
Perry added that his outrage also extended to the loss of life that takes place when others in the Black community kill each other. In his view, wrong was wrong regardless of color.
“I’m outraged today because I’d rather be paying for 8-year-old Secoriea Turner’s college than her funeral. When does this end?” he continued.
According to Secoriea’s mother, Charmaine Turner, she was trying to pull into a parking lot on University Avenue not too far from where Brooks was killed over the Fourth of July holiday with her daughter in the car. Turner was confronted by a group of armed people who blocked the entrance. For reasons not yet known, someone opened fire, striking the car several times.
Secoriea was taken to Atlanta Medical Center where she later died.
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“We understand the frustration of Rayshard Brooks,” Charmaine said at a press conference, “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.”
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