An Atlanta area sheriff’s office said on Thursday that it regrets “any headache” caused by the comments of a department spokesman who said the suspect in the spa shooting that left eight people dead was having a “bad day”.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged that comments on Wednesday by Captain Jay Baker were “interpreted as insensitive”, but the department insisted “that they had no intention of disrespecting any of the victims, the gravity of this tragedy, or expressing empathy or sympathy for the suspect. “
Baker said the suspect told investigators “that he was fed up, on the edge” and that “he had a bad day, and that’s what he did”. Later on Wednesday, it was revealed that Baker last March had shared a Facebook post promoting anti-Asian t-shirts.
“There are simply no words to describe the degree of human suffering experienced on Tuesday … in our community and in Atlanta,” Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds said in a statement on Thursday.
“I met and served with Captain Baker for many years. His personal ties to the Asian community and his unwavering support and commitment to the citizens of Cherokee County are well known to many. Oh, the name of the dedicated women and men of Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, we regret any headaches that Captain Baker’s words may have caused. “
Suspect Robert Aaron Long, 21, is accused of killing four people inside the Young’s Asian Massage Parlor on Highway 92, near Bells Ferry in Cherokee County, on Tuesday night.
Long is also suspected of a shooting at the Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta, which took place about 45 minutes later. Three people died at the Gold Spa and one more at Aromatherapy.
Atlanta police revealed on Thursday that they are still struggling, after nearly 48 hours since the shootings took place, to make positive identifications of their four victims and notify surviving loved ones.
“We need to make sure that we have a genuine verification of their identities and that we make the appropriate notification of close kinship,” Atlanta Police Chief Charles Hampton told reporters, adding that the police are working closely with southern diplomats. Koreans to find family members.
“We just ask that you just respect the families that are still grieving and some that may not even know yet.”
The police spokesman did not rule out possible hate crime charges against the sniper.
“We had four Asian women who were killed and so we are analyzing everything to make sure that we find out and determine what was the reason for our murders,” said Hampton.
