The 21-year-old White man, Robert Aaron Long who killed 8 people in shootings at Atlanta massages parlors might have been impelled by “sex addiction” and not racism although 6 victims were of Asian descent.
Robert is in police custody and has admitted to carrying out the shooting on Tuesday evening.
The killings of people of Asian descent happened when the US is being swept by a wave of violence against Asian people.
As said by Sheriff’s Office Captain Jay Baker “2 of the victims were White and that Long “does claim that it was not racially motivated”.
As per Sheriff Frank Reynolds’s statement, “Long “made indicators that he has some issues, potentially sexual addiction, and Long might be visiting these places frequently in the past.
Jay Baker also said Long told Police that “he considered the spas “as an outlet for him” to do “something he shouldn’t be doing” and that he wanted “to take out that temptation”.
7 out of 8 victims of this shooting were women and according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry, 4 of the victims were of Korean descent.
One more person was injured in the attack.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta Mayor said “Whether it’s senseless violence that we’ve seen play out in our streets or more targeted violence like we saw yesterday, a crime against any community is a crime against us all.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said: “Knowing the increasing level of hate crime against our Asian American brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them and acknowledge that none of us should ever be silent in the face of any form of hate”.
According to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, 3,800 cases of violence and harassment have taken place in the US in the past year.
President Donald Trump has been blamed by Democrats and Asian activists for the violence because of repeated assertions calling Covid-19 the “Kungflu” and an “Asian virus”.
Police said after the incident Long’s Image was circulated and his family identified him and helped police track him using his mobile phone. Long was caught 240 km away. According to officials Long was on the way to Florida and might be planning to attack a porn business.
