Hyun Jung Grant’s son, who was one of eight people killed in a shootout against Georgia spas this week, acknowledged Friday that he questions the motive of suspect Robert Aaron Long for allegedly killing his mother and other victims.
Randy Park, Grant’s 23-year-old son, in an interview with ABC News, stated that Long’s explanation that he was allegedly motivated to carry out the shooting at three spas in the Atlanta area due to ‘a sex addiction made no sense to him.
“I think two of the locations were next to each other on the street and on the street [other] one was in some other county … As if in a good car. If you blame him for sex addiction, but you decide to target specifically Asian places and the victims are mostly of Asian descent, I can’t help but ask … “Does that make sense?” Park told ABC News. “No, of course not.”
Long, who on Wednesday was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the incident, denied the attacks were racially motivated. He admitted that he chose to attack the spas because they were a “temptation” of his alleged sexual “addiction”.
Tuesday’s shootings marked the latest in an increase in violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Park noted that he had been advised not to talk about the situation, however, he said he felt a duty to acknowledge continued violence.
“How many years have passed and these things still happen,” he said. “It’s difficult and I feel I have a responsibility to talk about it. So even if there are opposing reactions, I understand why, but I think that can point to a certain tolerance for what’s going on and that’s unacceptable. “