Rayshard Brooks autonomous zone run by gang who shot 8-year-old girl, GBI warrant alleges

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The Bloods street gang overtook an area in Atlanta known as the Rayshard Brooks autonomous zone last summer and is also linked to the fatal shooting of an 8-year-old girl, according to a new warrant shedding light on the nights of riots and violence in the city last year. 

"The Bloods gang and its associates operated the area as an ‘autonomous zone’ in which the sovereign authority of the City and State were not recognized, and the Bloods gang exerted all control," a warrant filed last week states. 

Members of the Bloods seized the area through the "brandishing, pointing and discharging of firearms at citizens and civilians to ensure compliance with their authority in a highly visible manner."

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The zone was created after Brooks died on June 12 last year when police responded to reports of a man asleep in a Wendy’s drive-thru lane. Responding officers administered a sobriety test on Brooks, which he failed, and attempted to take him into custody. He resisted arrest and struggled with the officers to obtain a police Taser, and was seen ​​aiming the Taser toward the officers.

This screen grab taken from body camera video provided by the Atlanta Police Department shows Rayshard Brooks speaking with Officer Garrett Rolfe in the parking lot of a Wendy's restaurant, late Friday, June 12, 2020, in Atlanta. Rolfe has been fired following the fatal shooting of Brooks and a second officer has been placed on administrative duty. (Atlanta Police Department via AP)

Brooks was shot and died, setting off what became nights of riots in Atlanta amid ongoing riots and protests that had already swept the nation in response to George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. 

A warrant filed last week alleges Brooks was a member of the Bloods, and his death led to the gang allegedly taking over the area near where he died, which eventually led to the death of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner. 

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"Prior investigation determined that Brooks was a member/associate of the Bloods criminal street gang," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation warrant reads. 

Brooks’s family has said they have "no knowledge or information regarding any alleged gang affiliation of Rayshard Brooks."

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Turner died on the night of July 4 after her mother and an adult friend drove down the road near the autonomous zone. The driver of the car attempted to go into a liquor store but was stopped by the armed rioters who took over the area. The car attempted to leave the area, and rioters allegedly shot at the car and fatally struck Turner. 

Police have arrested two members of the gang suspected to be behind Turner’s death, Julian Conley, 19, and Jerrion McKinney, 23. 

"On June 11, 2021, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis requested that the GBI Gang Task Force conduct a gang investigation and secure additional arrest warrants as needed in Turner’s murder investigation," GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in an emailed statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Arrest warrants were secured for McKinney and Julian Jamal Conley who was already incarcerated."

Two weeks before Turner's death, Atlanta Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms acknowledged the armed autonomous zone and said, "The City removed obstructions from the property and right of way. We will continue to monitor the situation as we work with the appropriate stakeholders to maintain peace and order in the community."

But the armed rioters returned sometime after June 23. 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted that the mayor held police back from clearing the autonomous zone quickly, after City Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd said she was negotiating with the rioters. 

"Neither the Administration nor APD had prior knowledge of alleged gang affiliation. It would be inappropriate to comment further as this is an ongoing investigation and legal matter," a spokesperson for the mayor told Fox News when asked when she was briefed on gang ties to the zone. 

The new information on gang ties has sparked concerns of leadership in the city, however, including from independent journalist George Chidi, who was beaten while reporting on the area last year. 

"Tremendous resources are placed in the hands of the police to ensure a base level of order in society," said Chidi, who is Black. "That completely broke down over the course of several weeks."

Chidi added that there was a hierarchy among those in the zone, but did not suspect them to be gang related at the time. 

Atlanta police told Fox News on Wednesday that "additional developments and information in this case is the result of extensive investigation," and added they have no new developments to release at this time. 

Turner's family is also in the midst of suing Atlanta, Bottoms, Atlanta police chief Rodney Bryant, Sheperd and Wendy's International. The family alleges city leaders were "negligent in their duties by failing to remove armed vigilantes who had gathered alongside peaceful protesters at the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed."

Meanwhile, the Fulton County district attorney said last week that the Atlanta area is facing a "gang problem" and that her office is taking a "tough stance" on the matter. 

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"We have a gang problem in Fulton County and the metro area surrounding it," DA Fani Willis said. "And that gang violence is harming people to include children. We’re taking it very seriously … and we’re taking a tough stance on it."

Brooks’s death also added to calls from activists to defund the police, which Bottoms said last summer was a matter of "reallocating funds" of the police department. This year, the department’s budget was raised by 7% to over $230 million, amid an increase in violent crimes, with homicides spiking nearly 60% by June when compared to the same time period last year.