Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Sen. Raphael Warnock said Thursday morning that the man suspected of killing eight people in attacks on three separate Atlanta-area spas \u2014 including six people of Asian descent and seven women \u2014 was driven by \u201chate\u201d to commit the acts of violence. <\/p>\n
The comments from the Georgia Democrat come amid an escalating controversy over local law enforcement\u2019s public statements about the alleged shooter\u2019s potential motivation, especially an assessment from a county sheriff\u2019s official that the 21-year-old white male suspect had simply had a \u201cbad day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will hear, I guess, his explanation in the days ahead,\u201d Warnock said of the suspect Thursday in an interview on MSNBC. \u201cBut we know hate when we see it. We\u2019ll get into the nuances of it, but only hate drives you to take eight precious lives in the way that he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The senator added that he was \u201cmore interested in hearing the stories of the victims\u201d killed in the attacks Tuesday on Young\u2019s Asian Massage Parlor, Aromatherapy Spa and Gold Spa. \u201cThat\u2019s really what we ought to be amplifying, their humanity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Georgia law enforcement officials received widespread backlash Wednesday after conducting a news briefing in which they cited the suspect\u2019s assertion that his crimes were not related to race. \u201cIt\u2019s still early, but he does claim that it was not racially motivated,\u201d said Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
Baker told reporters the suspect suffered from \u201cwhat he considers a sex addiction\u201d and that he viewed the spas as a \u201ctemptation\u201d that he \u201cwanted to eliminate.\u201d Further describing the suspect, Baker added: \u201cYesterday was a really bad day for him, and this is what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Critics denounced those remarks by law enforcement as wildly deferential to the alleged killer, failing to acknowledge the known facts of the case and discounting the well-documented rise in attacks on Asian Americans over the past several months that have coincided with the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
The suspect was charged Wednesday with four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault in Cherokee County, part of the Atlanta metro area where one of the spas was located. Additional charges are expected to follow related to the two shootings that occurred within the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the motivation was for this guy, we know that many of the victims, [the] majority of the victims were Asian,\u201d Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at a news conference Wednesday. \u201cWe also know that this is an issue that is happening across the country. It is unacceptable. It is hateful. And it has to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Appearing Wednesday in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden said he had \u201cbeen speaking about the brutality against Asian-Americans.\u201d He called the trend \u201ctroubling\u201d and said he would \u201chave more to say\u201d about the Atlanta killings \u201cwhen the investigation is completed.\u201d<\/p>\n
White House press secretary Jen Psaki argued at her briefing Wednesday that there was \u201cno question\u201d former President Donald Trump \u2014 who has repeatedly used offensive terms such as the \u201cChina virus\u201d to refer to the pandemic \u2014 had contributed to \u201cperceptions of the Asian-American community that are inaccurate, unfair [and] have elevated threats against Asian Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n