Atlanta shooting: Church shoots suspect out of membership

Atlanta shooting: Church shoots suspect out of membership

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Long, 21, was arrested Tuesday night in connection with the deaths of eight people in three spas in the metro area of ​​Atlanta. Six of the victims were Asian women. Long told police he believes he has a sex addiction and that he sees the spas as a temptation … which he wants to eliminate, Capt. Jay Baker, Capt. Jay Baker, in Sherokee County said.

It is not clear if any of the three businesses offered sexual services other than massages. But authorities gave no indication that the three businesses were operating illegally.

Crabapple First Baptist Church in Milton, a suburban city north of Atlanta, said in a statement that Long and his family had been members of their congregation for years. The church saw how Long grew up and accepted him as a member of the church ‘when he made his own confession of faith in Jesus Christ’.

“These unthinkable and serious murders directly contradict his own confession of faith in Jesus and the gospel,” the statement said.

The statement called the shooting an “extreme and ungodly act” that is “antithetical to everything we as a church believe and teach.”

The church condemned Long’s actions “most strongly”, saying it lamented the “fear and pain experienced by Asian Americans as a result of Aaron’s inexcusable actions”.

“No blame can be placed on the victims,” ​​the statement said. “He alone is responsible for his evil deeds and desires.”

As a result of the shooting, the church published its full statement on its website, along with frequently asked questions about the shooting, Long’s relationship with the church, and the church’s teachings. The church restricted access to the statement and the church’s teachings on its website and took down its social media accounts.

In its statement, the church said it was taking down its website and social media accounts “out of an abundance of caution”.

“We feared for the safety of members of our church community,” the church’s website said.

A trip to the spa that ended in death. These are some of the victims of the shooting in Atlanta

Sunday’s worship service opened with a member taking the names of the victims whose lives were ‘taken in’ in an inexcusable murder, “pastor Luke Folsom said according to a survey by the church.

“We have been mourning this tragic loss of life all week, and we will continue to mourn the victims and their families,” Folsom said. “So that’s what we’re going to do today.”

Long is being held without bail in Cherokee County, where he is facing four counts of malicious murder, one count of attempted murder, one count of aggravated assault and five counts of using a firearm while committing an offense. has.

According to Atlanta police, he was charged with four counts of murder in connection with the two spa shootings in Atlanta.

CNN’s Dakin Andone, Natasha Chen, Matt Gannon, Chuck Johnston, Kay Jones and Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.

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