Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged for an “alarming rise” in anti-Asian violence to come to an end after a white man confessed to killing eight people, six of which were Asian, at massage parlors in the Atlanta metro area.
“Even as we’ve battled the pandemic, we’ve continued to neglect the longer-lasting epidemic of gun violence in America. Although the shooter’s motive is not yet clear, the identity of the victims underscores an alarming rise in anti-Asian violence that must end,” Obama wrote on Twitter.
The former president also reaffirmed his longstanding call to enact additional gun control laws, writing: “Yesterday’s shootings are another tragic reminder that we have far more work to do to put in place commonsense gun safety laws and root out the pervasive patterns of hatred and violence in our society.”
He added: “Michelle and I pray for the victims, their families, everyone grieving these needless and devastating killings—and we urge meaningful action that will save lives.”
Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Georgia, was arrested in Crisp County following a manhunt sparked by the trio of shootings, according to Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jay Baker. Long, who is 21-year-old, was charged with murder and assault, and is being held without bond. Law enforcement said the suspect has confessed to the crimes.
Long told police that the shootings were not racially motivated and that he possibly suffers from a “sex addiction,” officials said in a press conference Wednesday.
“He apparently has an issue, what he considers a sex addiction, and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places, and it’s a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate,” Baker told reporters.
Sheriff Frank Reynolds said it was too early to tell if the attack was racially motivated — “but the indicators right now are it may not be.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.