Local Congresswoman ‘Utterly Devastated’ by Atlanta Killing Spree

[Updated]  U.S Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) condemned a killing spree on Tuesday that left six Asian-American women dead.

Robert Aaron Long, 21, was arrested Tuesday in connection with shootings at three spas in Atlanta, Georgia.

Long is now facing four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. He is being held without bail, according to CNN.

“I am utterly devastated to learn about the eight people senselessly shot to death in Georgia tonight. Six of these victims are Asian American women,” tweeted Chu. “Our community has been facing a relentless increase in attacks and harassment over the past year…

“As we wait for more details to emerge, I ask everyone to remember that hurtful words and rhetoric have real life consequences. Please stand up, condemn this violence, and help us #StopAsianHate.”

The mass shooting began shortly before 5 p.m. when a gunman matching Long’s description entered a massage parlor and fatally shot four people, including two Asian women.

Video footage showed the shooter fleeing in a black SUV toward Atlanta. 

Shortly before 6 p.m., police responded to a call of a robbery in progress at a spa and found three Asian women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. 

From there, the gunman entered a spa across the street where he shot to death another Asian woman.

This incident also comes amid a surge in violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans that is largely attributed to the proliferation of racist rhetoric during the coronavirus pandemic.

Police said Long indicated to investigators he believed he had a sex addiction and “an issue with porn.” He claimed to see the spas as “a temptation … that he wanted to eliminate,” Cherokee County sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker said at Wednesday’s news conference, according to CNN.

But the shootings don’t have to be racially motivated to qualify as a hate crime in Georgia. Under Georgia law, sex is a hate crime category. If Long was targeting women out of hatred for them or scapegoating them for his own problems, it could still qualify as a hate crime, The New York Times reported.