Summary
We’re wrapping up our liveblog for the day. Thanks for following along with us. You can catch up on all our latest coverage here, here and here.
And here’s a recap of the afternoon’s developments, via my colleague Adam Gabbatt:
- A man has been charged with murder after eight people were killed and another person injured in shootings at three massage parlors in Atlanta.
- Robert Aaron Long, 21, was charged with eight counts of murder and one count of assault in relation to the attacks, which took place on Tuesday evening.
- Six of the people killed were women of Asian descent, which has led to calls for better protections for Asian Americans. The Asian American community has seen an increase in hate crime over the past year, after being demonized by Donald Trump over the coronavirus outbreak.
- Joe Biden said violence against Asian Americans is “very, very troubling”, but said he is “making no connection at this moment of the motivation of the killer.” Long reportedly bought the gun used in the shooting this week.
- Georgia police claimed the shootings were not racially motivated, prompting discussion around the nature and meaning of white supremacy. Some female Asian American politicians said the shootings were inextricably linked with racism.
My colleague Vivian Ho reported this week on a new study from Stop AAPI Hate, a not-for-profit coalition, that tracked violence against Asian Americans, which has been on the rise during the pandemic.
It found that Asian Americans have reported nearly 3,800 hate-related incidents between March 2020 and February 2021. More than 68% of the abuse was verbal harassment and name calling, while more than 11% of it was physical, the report found.
Read more about the findings here ...
Jay Baker, the Cherokee county sheriff’s captain who drew criticism earlier today for describing Robert Aaron Long’s killing spree as “a really bad day for him”, had previously shared a photo on Facebook of T-shirts that contained a racist slogan about China and the coronavirus, according to multiple news reports.
BuzzFeed News writes:
In a Facebook post from April 2020, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker shared an image of T-shirts based off the Corona beer label that said “Covid 19 IMPORTED VIRUS FROM CHY-NA.”
“Love my shirt,” Baker wrote. “Get yours while they last.’”
Baker did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but after BuzzFeed News asked about the shirt, the public Facebook post became unavailable.
The Daily Beast also confirmed the Facebook post before it was hidden, writing:
The shirts appear to be printed by Deadline Appeal, owned by a former deputy sheriff from Cherokee County, and sold for $22. The store, which promotes fully customizable gear, also appears to print shirts for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard, a “ceremonial unit, all volunteers, who represent not only the Sheriff’s Office but also the county when participating in a variety of events,” according to a March 10 Instagram post. The photos on Baker’s account were first spotted by a Twitter user.
Hey Captain Jay Baker with Cherokee Country Sheriff's Office... this you? pic.twitter.com/1pTlwSlYZQ
— Rich Phelps (@RichPhelps) March 17, 2021
Updated
Mourners came out on Wednesday to pay tribute to the eight victims of yesterday’s shootings, leaving flowers, candles and signs outside the three spas where the attacks took place. Photographers captured the scenes ...
Updated
Here’s a video from earlier in the day when Kamala Harris and Joe Biden addressed the Atlanta shootings.
“We are not yet clear about the motive, but I don’t want to say to our Asian American community – we stand with you,” the vice-president said. “We understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people, but knowing the increasing level of hate crime against our Asian brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them.”
Biden also called violence against Asian Americans “very, very troubling”.
Watch the full video here:
What we know so far
As we head into the evening, here’s a reminder of what we know so far about yesterday’s horrific attack in Atlanta, courtesy of my colleague Victoria Bekiempis ...
- Eight people were killed in three separate shootings on Tuesday evening at massage parlors in and around the city.
- The majority of victims killed were women of Asian descent. Two of those killed were white. Police said seven of those killed were women.
- Robert Aaron Long, 21, was arrested as the suspect in the shootings. Long was taken into custody in south-west Georgia about 150 miles (240km) from Atlanta, after police intercepted his car.
- Long faces eight counts of murder, and one count of assault, for the shootings in Atlanta and Acworth, about 30 miles north-west in Cherokee county. His arraignment is expected on Thursday.
- The Cherokee county sheriff’s office revealed the identities of the four victims killed at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor. They are 33-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun, 54-year-old Paul Andre Michels, 49-year-old Xiaojie Yan, and 44-year-old Daoyou Feng.
- A spokesperson for the Cherokee county sheriff’s office said it appeared that Xiaojie Yan was the owner of Youngs Asian Massage Parlor.
- Yaun worked at an Acworth location of Waffle House, a US diner chain. In a statement about her death, the company described her as a “well-liked server” who was trained as a grill operator.
- Authorities said they were continuing to investigate whether these killings were racially motivated hate crimes, given the uptick in attacks against Asian Americans. Officials said that the suspect said that his actions weren’t racially motivated and that he might have had a “sex addiction”. “During his interview, he gave no indicators that this was racially motivated,” the Cherokee county sheriff, Frank Reynolds, reportedly said.
- Law enforcement agencies across the US were on heightened alert Wednesday over fears that the victims were targeted because of their Asian American ethnicity. The New York police department’s counter-terrorism bureau said it was monitoring developments in Georgia and would send additional officers to Asian communities in the city “out of an abundance of caution”.
Read the full story here ...
Violence against Asian Americans is a “growing crisis”.
More reaction to the shootings in Atlanta:
I am deeply saddened that we live in a nation and world permeated by hate and violence. I stand with Asian members of our World House, who are a part of our global human family.” – The Rev Bernice King, daughter of the Rev Martin Luther King Jr
Hate crimes against Asian Americans are a result of the hateful rhetoric and dangerous narratives espoused from Americans, including our former president, who believe their words don’t have dangerous consequences ... Let’s be clear, domestic terrorism is cancerous, and it is growing in our country. We must work together, regardless of race and political affiliation, to stop it.” – The Rev Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network
The surge in violence against Asian Americans over the last year is a growing crisis. We need action from our leaders and within our communities to stop the hate.” – Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
We can draw a straight line between white supremacist violence and the rhetoric of leaders who scapegoat our communities. These incidents are no different ... We oppose harmful and inaccurate narratives that paint Asian American and Asian immigrant communities with one brush in an effort to diminish their lives and their contributions.” – The Movement for Black Lives
Updated
“This is a hate crime. Stop killing us.”
The Associated Press has a roundup of some of the reactions to the shootings:
Racially motivated violence must be called out for exactly what it is and we must stop making excuses for it or rebranding it as economic anxiety or sexual addiction ... Words matter. Leadership matters. We must all loudly condemn actions and language rooted in fear and bigotry that harms all of us.” – Democratic US representative. Marilyn Strickland of Washington, the first Korean American woman elected to Congress
While the details ... are still emerging, the broader context cannot be ignored. The shootings happened under the trauma of increasing violence against Asian Americans nationwide, fueled by white supremacy and systemic racism.” – Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta
Last night was an act of pure racist hatred. This is very personal to me as a mom of a child who is both Black & Asian.” – Shonda Rhimes, TV writer and producer
I’m angry. This is terrorism. This is a hate crime. Stop killing us.” – Margaret Cho, comedian
Updated
Summary
• A man has been charged with murder after eight people were killed and another person injured in shootings at three massage parlors in Atlanta.
• Robert Aaron Long, 21, was charged with eight counts of murder and one count of assault in relation to the attacks, which took place on Tuesday evening.
• Six of the people killed were women of Asian descent, which has led to calls for better protections for Asian Americans. The Asian American community has seen an increase in hate crime over the past year, after being demonized by Donald Trump over the coronavirus outbreak.
• Joe Biden said violence against Asian Americans is “very, very troubling”, but said he is “making no connection at this moment of the motivation of the killer.” Long reportedly bought the gun used in the shooting this week.
• Georgia police claimed the shootings were not racially motivated, prompting discussion around the nature and meaning of white supremacy. Some female Asian American politicians said the shootings were inextricably linked with racism.
Updated
There is “no question” that the Trump administration’s rhetoric towards Asian Americans has increased violence against the community, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said on Wednesday.
“There’s no question that some of the damaging rhetoric we saw during the prior administration – calling Covid the Wuhan virus or other things – led to perceptions of the Asian American community that are inaccurate, unfair, [and] has elevated threats to Asian Americans. we’re seeing that around the country,” Psaki said.
White House Press Sec. says there is "no question" that the Trump administration calling COVID the 'Wuhan virus' has led to uptick in attacks on Asian Americans pic.twitter.com/pcuEfkmYum
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 17, 2021
Updated
Suspect charged with additional four counts of murder
The man suspected of killing eight people at a series of Atlanta-area spas has been charged with an additional four counts of murder.
The Atlanta police department said its homicide unit has charged Robert Aaron Long, 21. Three people were killed at Gold Spa and one person at the Aromatherapy Spa on Tuesday.
Long was earlier charged with four counts of murder and one count of assault in relation to shootings in Cherokee county. Four people were killed, and one injured, at Young’s Asian Massage in the county.
Updated
Investigators believe the suspect in the Atlanta spa shootings bought the gun used in the attack this week, CNN reports.
According to the news channel, law enforcement sources said nothing in Robert Aaron Long’s background would have prevented that purchase.
CNN has uncovered a lot of new information regarding Long, who has so far been charged with four counts of murder and one count of assault:
A law enforcement source said the suspect was recently kicked out of the house by his family due to his sexual addiction, which, the source said, included frequently spending hours on end watching pornography online.
According to an incident report from CCSO, a 911 caller said the suspect could possibly be his son and “does have a tracker on his phone”. Another anonymous caller to 911 told dispatch the suspect was “kicked out of his parents’ house last night”, adding that he “was emotional”, the incident report says.
CNN reported that Long is on suicide watch and was “wearing a vest intended to protect him from self-harm” in the police mugshot released earlier.
Updated
Biden: violence against Asian American 'very troubling'
Joe Biden said violence against Asian Americans is “very, very troubling” but that he is “making no connection at this moment of the motivation of the killer”.
“I am waiting for an answer from – as the investigation proceeds – from the FBI and from the justice department. So I’ll have more to say when the investigation is completed,” the president added, ahead of a virtual bilateral meeting with the Irish prime minister, Micheál Martin.
Biden on shootings at Atlanta-area spas: “Whatever the motivation here, I know that Asian Americans are very concerned...I’ve been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple of months, and I think it’s very, very troubling.” https://t.co/pxo6hYmpa5 pic.twitter.com/DefsE6SSB0
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 17, 2021
Just six days ago Biden called out the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Biden said Asian Americans have been “attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated”, and added: “They are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America. It’s wrong, it’s un-American and it must stop.”
Updated
Suspect charged with murder
The white gunman accused of killing eight people in Atlanta, six of them women of Asian descent, has been charged with several counts of murder.
Authorities in Cherokee county said Robert Aaron Long, 21, was charged Wednesday with four counts of murder and one count of assault. Four people were killed, and one injured, at Young’s Asian Massage in the county on Tuesday.
The New York Times reported that officials are yet to announce charges relating to the subsequent shootings at two other spas, in the city of Atlanta.
Updated
There has been a lot of criticism of how the Georgia shootings have been characterized, after police in Georgia said earlier today the shootings did not appear to be racially motivated. Six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent.
Here’s a sample of the points being made about racism and white supremacy:
As if these things aren't related and based on centuries of sexualized and submissive stereotypes of Asian women. White supremacy is rooted in misogyny and racism. https://t.co/C42KyqTGIP
— Millie Tran (@millie) March 17, 2021
On that note, just because a white man who targeted 3 Asian businesses and killed 6 Asian women said it’s not hate crime *does not* mean his acts were not a hate crime. #StopAAPIHate https://t.co/nx7mql00k6
— Bee Nguyen 🐝 (@BeeForGeorgia) March 17, 2021
This made me want to just point out, the fetishization and hyper sexualization of Asian women is dangerous and reinforces harmful stereotypes. Stereotypes like these cause violence against Asian women to be overlooked, erased, and legitimized. https://t.co/OvoVWxJBIS
— Yuh-Line Niou (@yuhline) March 17, 2021
It was about misogyny & race. I don't know why people think incels can't also be enamored with white supremacy. A lot of them will show you their racism with no prompting... https://t.co/eTYB4eEPIJ
— Mikki Kendall (@Karnythia) March 17, 2021
Updated
Many people have pointed to a statement by Captain Jay Baker, from Cherokee county sheriff’s office, earlier today, where Baker said of Robert Aaron Long: “Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did.”
"Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did" -- a law enforcement official explains Robert Aaron Long's decision to kill 8 people in a strange manner pic.twitter.com/u0zFcqjbNK
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 17, 2021
Here’s the full quote from Baker:
Investigators, they interviewed him this morning and ... they got that impression that yes he understood the gravity of it. He was pretty much fed up, and kind of at [the] end of his rope, and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did.
Updated
Interim summary
There is a lot more news and reaction developing in the Atlanta shooting tragedy that unfolded yesterday evening. Guardian US will have it all for you, with live updates, so stay tuned.
Here are the main points so far about the event in which a male suspect, Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, Georgia, is accused of shooting dead eight people, including six women of Asian descent, at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area last night.
- Long’s parents reportedly assisted in the swift capture of their son as he was fleeing by car through southern Georgia.
- The authorities have begun naming those killed and injured in the three shooting episodes last night.
- While it’s unclear if this was a specifically an anti-Asian attack, it has stirred concerns in Asian American communities across the US, and drawn condemnation on hate crimes in general from leaders.
- Kamala Harris said the shootings spoke to the larger issue of violence in our society.
- Law enforcement figures indicated this morning at a press conference that Long, who has been described as a very observant Christian, frequented massage parlors, may suffer from sex addiction or some sort of similar obsession and may have been trying to “take out” sources of temptation.
- Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, said that when he was caught, Long was on his way to Florida, and may have been planning more killings.
Updated
Here are some more details about what happened last night involving the suspect in the Atlanta shootings, also an observation from a friend.
The Associated Press writes from Crisp county in Georgia:
Crisp county sheriff Billy Hancock said in a video posted on Facebook that his deputies and state troopers were notified Tuesday night that a murder suspect out of north Georgia was headed their way. Deputies and troopers set up along the interstate and “made contact with the suspect”, he said.
A state trooper performed a PIT, or pursuit intervention technique, maneuver, “which caused the vehicle to spin out of control”, Hancock said. Long, of Woodstock, was then taken into custody “without incident”.
Crisp county sheriff’s spokeswoman, Haley Wade, said this morning that Long is no longer in their custody and that her office has turned over its information to the other Georgia agencies and the FBI.
Rita Barron, the store manager of a business neighboring the massage parlor that was targeted in Cherokee county, said that security footage of the parking lot outside the stores showed the gunman had been sitting outside in his car for about an hour just watching.
Nico Straughan, 21, who went to school with Long, described him as “super nice, super Christian, very quiet” and said that in high school Long brought a Bible to school every day and would walk around with it in his hands.
“He went from one of the nicest kids I ever knew in high school to being on the news yesterday,” Straughan said.
Updated
Suspect's parents helped in his capture – report
The suspect in the Atlanta shootings, Robert Aaron Long, 21, was tracked down by the authorities with his parents’ help, according to the latest report.
Cherokee county deputies were using a surveillance camera image of Long to hunt him last night.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper and website now reports the following:
Long’s parents contacted the Cherokee sheriff’s office to identify their son. They also informed deputies that a tracking device could lead authorities to his vehicle, a Hyundai Tucson. Cherokee sheriff’s spokesman Jay Baker said he didn’t know why Long was being tracked, or if he was aware of it.
They do know that, without the GPS tracker, and his parents’ cooperation, Long, accused of fatally shooting eight people Tuesday at three metro Atlanta massage parlors, would not have been apprehended so quickly, Baker said.
Long was captured in Crisp county, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, en route to Florida, “perhaps to carry out additional shootings”, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at a press conference earlier today.
Updated
In a statement provided to the Guardian, the Cherokee county police department shared the names of four people who died in the shooting. They also provided the name of one person who was injured: Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, of Acworth, Georgia.
Of the eight people killed, these are the four victims who have been named:
Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, of Acworth
Xiaojie Tan, 49, of Kennesaw, Georgia
Daoyou Feng, 44, unknown address
Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta
Updated
On Monday, the Georgia state senator Michelle Au warned her fellow senators about the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans in Georgia during the pandemic.
Au, a first-generation Chinese American, acknowledged on Wednesday that the motive behind Tuesday’s shooting is still being investigated, but highlighted again the escalating racial discrimination and attacks against Asians.
“Our AAPI community has been living in fear this past year in the shadow of escalating racial discrimination and attacks,” Au said in a statement. “This latest series of murders only heightens that terror.
“We are scared for our families, we are scared for our friends.
“I implore all Georgians, and all Americans, to reach out to your Asian American neighbors and pledge to stand with them in solidarity. Recognize that we need support, we need protection, and we need your voices raised with ours against hate.”
A statement from our office about the senseless shootings in our community last night. pic.twitter.com/91WOQhlzD6
— Dr. Michelle Au (@AuforGA) March 17, 2021
Updated
The Atlanta-area shootings are the sixth mass killing this year in the US, according to a database compiled by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.
It is also the deadliest mass killing since an August 2019 Dayton, Ohio, shooting that took nine lives. The database defines a mass killings as something that leaves four or more people dead, not including the shooter.
During the pandemic in 2020, the US had the smallest number mass killings in more than a decade.
Updated
Law enforcement authorities in cities across the US were on alert on Wednesday amid fears that the gunman had targeted victims because they were Asian Americans, reports Miranda Bryant for the Guardian:
In New York City, the police department’s counter-terrorism bureau said it was monitoring the shooting in Georgia and would deploy additional officers to Asian communities across the city “out of an abundance of caution”.
Seattle officials said they were increasing outreach to Asian Americans and community organisations across the city and police presence with police patrols and community service officers.
Seattle’s mayor, Jenny Durkan, and chief of police, Adrian Diaz, labelled the killings in Atlanta an “act of hate”.
“We grieve with Atlanta and for the victims and their families. We also stand together with our Asian American community against the rise of hate crimes towards Asian Americans, especially targeting Chinese Americans,” they said in a joint statement.
Stop AAPI Hate, a not-for-profit coalition tracking incidents of violence, discrimination and harassment, issued a statement saying that many in the Asian American community had felt targeted over the past year.
“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,” it said.
“This latest attack will only exacerbate the fear and pain that the Asian American community continues to endure.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the group released a report showing that Asian Americans reported nearly 3,800 hate-related incidents during the pandemic, a number that experts believe to be just a fraction of the true total.
Georgia senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, issued a statement about the shootings.
“I’m heartbroken for the victims of last night’s horrific shootings in Georgia, and for the victims’ families.”
“I commend the authorities for swiftly apprehending the armed suspect.”
“While the motive for last night’s terrible violence remains under investigation, I express my love and support for and stand in solidarity with the Asian-American community, which has endured a shocking increase in violence and harassment over the last year.”
The police press conference in Atlanta provided new information about the suspect and how he was apprehended by police, but there has been little information made available about the victims.
Five people were shot in Cherokee county, Georgia just before 5pm on Tuesday. Two Asian women, a white woman and a white man died, according to police, who have not shared an update on the condition of the fifth person, a Hispanic man. They all appeared to have been shot inside the massage parlor.
In Atlanta, about 30 miles from that business, four more people were killed in shootings at two massage parlors across the street from each other, according to police.
Three women were found dead from gunshot wounds in the first business, and one woman was found dead from a gunshot wound in the other location. Police said that all four victims appeared to be Asian women.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that diplomats in Atlanta confirmed four of the seven women killed were of Korean descent. Their nationalities are not known.
The advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta said the broader context of the shootings couldn’t be ignored.
Phi Nguyen, litigation director of the group, said in a statement: “That the Asian women murdered yesterday were working highly vulnerable and low-wage jobs during an ongoing pandemic speaks directly to the compounding impacts of misogyny, structural violence and white supremacy.”
Updated
Vice-President Kamala Harris just commented on the shooting from the White House.
We grieve for the loss, our prayers are extended to the families of those who have been killed. And it speaks to a larger issue, which is the issue of violence in our country and what we must do to never tolerate it and to always speak out against it. The investigation is ongoing, we don’t yet know, we are not yet clear about the motive, but I do want to say to our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people, but 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.
Updated
At the Atlanta press conference, Capt Jay Baker of Cherokee county, Georgia, shared more details from the police interview with the suspect.
Baker said the suspect took responsibility for the shooting and said it wasn’t racially-motivated, though officials still have to investigate whether those two things are actually true.
Baker said there was no indication anyone was working with the suspect and that the suspect had indicated he saw massage parlors as an “outlet”.
“He was attempting to take out this temptation,” Baker said.
Updated
Shooting suspect 'frequented' massage parlors
Chief Rodney Bryant of the Atlanta police said the department had received many calls about whether the shooting had been classified as a hate crime. “We are still early in this investigation, so we cannot make this determination at this moment,” Bryant said at an ongoing press conference in Atlanta.
Sheriff Frank Reynolds of Cherokee county, Georgia, where one of the targeted spas was located, said police had interviewed the suspect overnight and that he indicated he had “sexual addiction” issues. “We believe that he frequented these places in the past,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said the suspect’s family saw a police alert identifying the suspect and contacted the department to help them find him.
Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance-Bottoms, said the suspect was on his way to Florida when he was apprehended by police and that more shootings may have been planned.
Lance-Bottoms said she spoke to Joe Biden about the shooting and that the White House had offered to provide additional resources to the city as needed. “A crime against any community is a crime against us all,” she said.
Updated
A series of shootings at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area have left eight people dead, the majority of them women of Asian descent, leading to fears the killer had a racial motive.
The names of the victims have not yet been released, but police said that six were Asian and all but one were women.
Police have arrested a suspect in the shootings, a 21-year-old white male from Georgia, and are scheduled to hold a press conference this morning.
We will be providing updates on the victims, investigation and reaction to the shooting.
Catch up with the main story here:
And here’s a breakdown of what we know so far:
