ATHENS — Herschel Walker reached out to Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Monday to offer his support after what’s being called the city’s deadliest weekend of the year.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Monday that Governor Brian Kemp will deploy Georgia National Guard troops after an outbreak of violence in Atlanta that left five dead including the shooting of an 8-year-old girl.
RELATED: 5 dead, more than 2 dozen injured in Atlanta holiday weekend shootings
Walker, a College Football Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner who played at Georgia, asked via his Twitter account, “What can I do to help be a part of the solution?”
Bottoms, who revealed she recently tested positive for COVID-19, held an emotional Sunday press conference, putting the city’s civil unrest into perspective.
“We are shooting each other up on our streets in the city,” Bottoms said in the press conference video that Walker re-tweeted. “ You shot and killed a baby. And it wasn’t one shooter. There were at least two shooters. An 8-year-old baby.”
RELATED: AJC.com provides full transcript from Atlanta mayor
“We are doing each other more harm than any police officer on this force,” Bottoms said. “We’ve had over 75 shootings in the city over the past several weeks.
“There’s a lot of change that has to happen across this country, and police reform is a big part of it. But we also have to reform our own communities.”
Walker’s tweet also said, “I believe in Law & Order and I applaud you Atlanta Mayor @KeishaBottoms.”
Kemp indicated his emergency order for up to 1,000 troops was issued on account of the “lawlessness” that has broken out amid otherwise peaceful protests.
“Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda,” Kemp said, per AJC.com.
“Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead,” Kemp said. “This lawlessness must be stopped and order restored in our capital city.”
Walker played at Georgia from 1980-1982 and led the Bulldogs to the 1980 national title with an MVP performance in a 17-10 win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
WATCH: Herschel Walker says title game performance about ‘more than football’
Walker, then only a freshman, overcame a dislocated shoulder in the first quarter to rush for 150 yards in a legendary showing.
ESPN named Walker the No. 2 college football player of all-time earlier this year, and he was honored as the inaugural winner of the Freshman Legend Award.
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