Eight people were killed Tuesday in attacks on three Asian massage parlors in the US city of Atlanta, while authorities arrested the alleged perpetrator.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry confirmed today that four of the victims – including seven women and a man – of the shootings are of Korean origin and that the consulate in Atlanta is still confirming whether any were nationals. South Korean.
(In context: Eight dead in shootings in Asian massage parlors in Atlanta)
The victims were killed in three attacks on Asian massage parlors located around the southern American city of Atlanta.
The alleged perpetrator of the three attacks and the murders is a 21-year-old man identified as Robert Aaron Long.
Although the reasons have not yet been disclosed, it is believed there may have been one racial motivation in the killings since six of the victims are of Asian descent.
However, on Wednesday, U.S. police said, “The suspect did take responsibility for the shootings,” Capt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office told a news conference. .
“It’s still very early but he seems to claim he wasn’t motivated by racism.” But Robert Aaron Long, 21, told police he could suffer a “sexual addiction.”
“He hinted that he had problems with potential sexual addiction, and that he may have frequented several of these places in the past,” local authorities explained.
We will defend our American and Korean compatriots to make them feel safe
This triple shooting occurs in a context of growing concern among the Asian-American population, who denounce a rise in racist aggression against them.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that violence against people of Asian descent is “very worrying” and addressed the dismay this community suffers in the United States.
The president indicated that he spoke with the attorney general and the director of the FBI investigation agency, and stated that the reasons for Tuesday’s incident remain to be determined and that it left eight dead, six of them Asian people.
“I know Asian Americans are very concerned because, as you know, we’ve talked about brutality against Asian Americans in recent months,” Biden said. It’s a “very worrying” thing, he added.
Violence against the Asian community in the US has grown enormously in the last year (e.g., 1,900 percent in New York City, according to the city’s police department) in possible connection with the covid pandemic, the first cases were reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and the growing Washington-Beijing polarization.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday condemned the killings in Seoul. “I want to offer my deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who have died. We will defend our American and Korean compatriots so that they feel safe,” he said. flash during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, in statements collected by the Yonhap agency.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
* With information from Efe
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