Atlanta police search for motive in spa murders as Asian Americans decry attacks
- 3 years ago
Homicide detectives on Thursday weighed the possible motives of a gunman accused of fatally shooting several Asian women in Atlanta-area spas, as a U.S. lawmaker said the Asian-American community was “bleeding” from a recent surge in violence and discrimination.
Robert Aaron Long has been jailed on charges of murdering four people at two day spas in Atlanta and four other victims at a massage parlor in Cherokee County, about 40 miles (64 km) north of the state capital, on Tuesday. The four victims in Atlanta and two of the dead in Cherokee County were women of Asian descent.
“Nothing is off the table for our investigation,” Atlanta Deputy Police Chief Charles Hampton said at a news conference in response to a question about whether police were looking at the killings as possible hate crimes.
“We had four Asian females that were killed, and so we are looking at everything to make sure that we discover and determine what the motive of our homicides was,” he said.
Investigators have determined that Long had previously frequented both spas in Atlanta where he is accused of opening fire with a 9mm gun he purchased earlier in the day.
Investigators said Long, a 21-year-old Atlanta-area resident who is white, suggested to them that sexual frustration led him to commit violence. Numerous political leaders and civil rights advocates have speculated the killings were motivated at least in part by rising anti-Asian sentiment since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff at the White House to honor the victims of Tuesday’s rampage. He and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Atlanta on Friday to offer support to the Asian-American community.
Source: Reuters
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