Georgia cop who said Atlanta spa shooter was having a ‘bad day’ shared anti-Asian T-shirt on Facebook
The Atlanta police officer who said the suspect in the horrific Atlanta spa shootings that left eight people dead Tuesday was having a “really bad day” enthusiastically shared a Facebook post for T-shirts that read, “COVID-19: Imported virus from Chy-na.”
Capt. Jay Baker said Wednesday that the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, told authorities he had a sex addiction that caused him to open fire at three massage parlors and kill six Asian women, a white woman and a white man while injuring a Hispanic man.
“Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did,” Baker, a captain for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, said during a press conference.
Baker’s “bad day” explanation was lambasted online, and multiple users found his Facebook account. In March 2020, he shared a photo of T-shirts that read “COVID-19: Imported virus from Chy-na.”
Baker captioned the post, “Place your order while they last” with a smiley face emoji and a link to a website.
Baker’s curious choice of words to describe the killer’s state of mind shocked social media, with many expressing their disgust. One person @ElChakotay said, “No it was a really bad day for the victims involved & their families,” adding the hashtag #StopAsianHate, which has been trending all day.
What happened yesterday in Atlanta is horrible. Racist hate crimes against the asian american community anytime they occur is completely unacceptable. "Yesterday was a really bad day for him" No it was a really bad day for the victims involved & their families. #StopAsianHate https://t.co/NeqcR32dfu
— Chakotay (@ElChakotay) March 17, 2021
Another person, @FatherFlanagan1, made a wry comment, “In other news: His victims were unavailable for comment on how their day went.”
This just in: It was "a really bad day" yesterday for the guy in Atlanta who gunned down eight people in cold blood.
In other news: His victims were unavailable for comment on how their day went. https://t.co/3FeCWCPDiV— Father Flanagan (@FatherFlanagan1) March 17, 2021
Long was arrested Tuesday night about 150 miles south of Atlanta after a highway car chase.
He claimed to authorities that his attacks were not racially motivated, Baker said Wednesday.
Baker said Long considered the spas “a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate.” He also said the suspect was “at the end of his rope” when he carried out the attacks.
However, a witness told major South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo that Long shouted, “I am going to kill all Asians” while opening fire at one location.
Long was charged with four counts of murder, as well as one count of assault, according to Cherokee County authorities.
In a statement, the anti-Asian discrimination group Stop AAPI Hate, condemned the attacks.
“The reported shootings of multiple Asian American women today in Atlanta is an unspeakable tragedy — for the families of the victims first and foremost, but also for the Asian American community, which has been reeling from high levels of racist attacks over the course of the past year,” the organization said Tuesday.