Joe Biden denounces ‘brutality’ against Asian-Americans after Atlanta spa shootings
- US president responds amid a national outcry about attacks in Georgia, which left eight dead, six of them women of Asian descent
- Members of Asian-American community reject claims by suspect that the attack was unrelated to race, pointing to sexualisation of Asian women
US President Joe Biden decried the wave of “brutality” against Asian-Americans on Wednesday, following mass shootings in Georgia Tuesday night that left eight people dead, six of them reportedly Asian women.
“I know that Asian-Americans are very concerned,” Biden said at the White House ahead of a virtual meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. “As you know I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian-Americans for the last couple months, and I think it’s very, very troublesome.”
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Georgia spa shootings kill 8 people, including 6 Asian women
The attacks were on three separate massage parlours in the Atlanta area; in addition to the dead, another person was injured. The 21-year-old suspect, Robert Aaron Long of Woodstock, Georgia, was apprehended en route to Florida, where he planned to carry out further attacks, police said.
While he also cautioned that the “question of motivation is still to be determined”, Biden’s comments came amid a national outcry of horror, revulsion and condemnation. Calling the shootings “tragic”, Vice-President Kamala Harris said the administration understood “how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people”.
“But knowing the increasing level of hate crimes against our Asian-American brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them,” Harris, who is the first Asian-American and woman to serve as vice-president, added.
