Wendy’s restaurant where Atlanta officer killed Rayshard Brooks is demolished

The June shooting heightened protests against US race-based police violence, and the burned-out Wendy’s became a gathering place for demonstrators

The occupation ended on July 4, when Secoriea Turner, 8, was killed across the street from the restaurant while in a vehicle with her mother

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The Wendy's where Rayshard Brooks was killed by Atlanta police last month has been torn down. Photo: AP

Published: 1:00pm, 15 Jul 2020Updated: 9:40pm, 15 Jul 2020

The sound of a balloon flapping in the wind with the message “You’re so special!” was overpowered on Tuesday by excavators and backhoes demolishing a charred Wendy’s restaurant that had become a symbol of Atlanta’s civil unrest.

The balloon was for Rayshard Brooks, the 27-year-old father shot and killed by a now-fired Atlanta police officer.

The killing set off intense protests against race-based police violence, while the burned-out restaurant became a gathering place for demonstrators – some of whom armed themselves and threatened others while occupying the site for days on end.

The occupation ended on July 4, when 8-year-old Secoriea Turner was shot and killed across the street from the restaurant while riding in the back seat of a vehicle with her mother.

A private demolition crew tears down the now infamous burned-out Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, where Rayshard Brooks was killed on June 12. Photo: EPA-EFE

Two days later, the city cleared the property and forced protesters off the site at University Avenue and Pryor Road.

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