Kamala Harris Tells Asian American Community ‘We Stand With You’ After Atlanta Spa Shootings

What's the story?

• A suspect is in custody after a string of shootings at three Atlanta-area massage parlors that left eight people dead, including six Asian women.
• While Atlanta police are saying Robert Aaron Long - who was arrested in South Georgia late Tuesday - was targeting massage parlors and "some type of porn industry," the attacks have brought renewed attention to hate crimes against Asian Americans.
• Vice President Kamala Harris expressed solidarity with the Asian American community. The first South Asian, Black, and female vice president said:

"I do want to say to our Asian American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people. But knowing the increasing level of hate crime against our Asian American brothers and sisters, we also want to speak out in solidarity with them and acknowledge that none of us should ever be silent in the face of any form of hate."

• Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms shared similar sentiments:

"We know that many of the victims, the majority of the victims, were Asian. We also know that this is an issue that's happening across the country. It is unacceptable, it is hateful, and it has to stop."

• Former President Donald Trump is facing criticism for referring to COVID-19 as the "China virus" during an interview the night of the shootings.

• Activists have said anti-Asian attacks and hate crimes were fueled by Trump's rhetoric while his administration struggled to contain the coronavirus—a virus Trump frequently referred to as the "China virus" and "Kung flu."
• In December, the Associated Press released a report detailing how bigotry toward Asian Americans has grown during the pandemic - including an increase in hate crimes - after the disease originated in the Wuhan province of China.

-Josh Herman