Less than a day after eight people shot dead in the spas in Atlanta area – six of them Asian women – a Georgia official told reporters the suspect in the mass shooting had a ‘bad day’. Now that official is investigating Facebook posts that apparently belong to him, which promoted a T-shirt with racist language about China and COVID-19.
“He was pretty grumpy and at the end of his rope. Yesterday was a very bad day for him, and that’s what he did,” Jay Baker, director of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, told a news conference on Wednesday. . explains the alleged motives of 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, who is currently in custody for the Tuesday night shooting.
Officials said the shooting amid a racially motivated appearance increasing nationwide concern about violence targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. A study released last week revealed that hate crimes against Asian Americans increased by about 150% by 2020, affecting women excessively.
However, officials said the suspect had problems with sex addiction, and was targeting the spas to “take out that temptation”.
“All of us have had bad days. But we are not going to go to three Asian companies and shoot up Asian employees,” California’s representative said. Ted Lieu tweeted following the news conference. He asked the FBI to conduct an independent investigation.
Just hours after the briefing, Internet peacekeepers discovered Baker’s apparent Facebook messages from April 2020, which appear to indicate that he is buying and promoting a t-shirt that is COVID-19 ” IMPORTED VIRUS OF CHY-NA ‘.
“Love my shirt! Get yours while it lasts,” reads one post. It looks like the shirt echoes the former President Donald Trump’s characterization of COVID-19 as the “China Virus” and “Kung Flu.”
At the time of writing, Asian Americans had already expressed fears of a increase in crime against the community because of the racist rhetoric surrounding the pandemic.
According to The Associated Press, the bill for ‘Jay Baker’, which was deleted on Wednesday night, contained several photos of Captain Jay Baker, the Cherokee County sheriff, dating back months, including one in which he is in uniform outside the sheriff’s office.
The posts appear, while many in the Asian American community have expressed concern that the shooting is not considered a hate crime. Numerous members of the community said the department apparently could not conduct a fair investigation.
“Seeing this post is disturbing and outrageous. It speaks to the structural racism we all face,” said Vincent Pan, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, a civil rights organization that opposes the Trying to deal with Asian hatred. crimes, told AP. “Along with the comments that came at the news conference, it does not give members of the community confidence that our experiences and the pain and suffering we feel are at least taken seriously by this particular person.”
Baker and the sheriff did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the first South Asian American woman to be elected to office, said she and President Biden ‘mourn the loss’ after the mass shooting.
“I do want to tell our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how it scared and shocked all the people,” she said.
Only four days before the attacks, Mr. Biden the increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans in his first speech for the country.
“Too often we have turned against each other,” he said. “Malicious hate crimes against Asian Americans, who were attacked, harassed, blamed and made scapegoats.”
“It’s wrong, it’s not American, and it must stop.