The Georgia sheriff’s captain, who delivered press briefings about the wave of murders of an armed man in Atlanta-area spas, allegedly posted on Facebook blaming China for the coronavirus pandemic.
Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office posted a photo of T-shirts on his Facebook page last April with the phrase “COVID 19 – virus imported from Chy-na,” reported BuzzFeed News.
Baker drew criticism on Wednesday when he said that suspected killer Robert Aaron Long had “a very bad day” before shooting eight people – including six Asian women.
“I loved my shirt,” said Baker in the Facebook post. “Get yours before it’s over. ‘”
Baker did not respond to a request for comment on the post.
The police officer is the director of communications for the sheriff’s office, which patrols the area where Long allegedly shot four of his victims and wounded another at Young’s Asian Massage on Tuesday night.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Baker said that Long “has a problem that he considers an addiction to sex and sees these places as something that allows him to go to those places,” without elaborating further on his motive.
“It is a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate. He was quite fed up and half on the edge, and yesterday was a very bad day for him, and that is what he did, ”said Baker.
Long was charged on Wednesday with four counts of murder and one of assault for the first shooting in Cherokee County.
