A police officer has been removed from the shocking Atlanta shooting case after saying the gunman "had a bad day"...
On Tuesday evening, twenty-one-year-old Robert Aaron Long went to 3 local spas and shot dead 8 innocent people in Cherokee and Fulcon County, Atlanta.
As per the New York Times, 4 people died in the first shooting at Young's Asian Massage, which was reported at around 5 pm.
Just a short while later, Long targeted the Gold Spa where he shot dead 3 women.
Shots were then fired nearby at the Aromatherapy Spa, where the body of another woman was found.
8 people in total tragically died, 6 of whom were Asian.
The victims are slowly being identified...
And according to Sky News, thirty-three-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun, fifty-four-year-old Paul Andre Michels, forty-nine-year-old Xiaojie Yan, and forty-four-year-old Daoyou Feng have been the first to be identified.
Utterly heartbreaking.
Long was arrested a few hours after the shootings following a manhunt...
TODAY 8 ASIAN WOMEN WERE KILLED IN A MASS SHOOTING HATE CRIME BY A TERRORIST IN ATLANTA. pic.twitter.com/BHCaDGFdKe
— GUCCI MEIN 🍜 (@tomngo422) March 17, 2021
And although he is now in police custody, people are feeling angrier than ever.
Many have been taking to social media to share their shock and heartbreak over the attack...
I live in Atlanta and am heartbroken about the 8 murders here tonight targeting Asian spas. Disgusting.
— AtlBlue (@atl_randy) March 17, 2021
Alongside their anger over how yet another shooting has been allowed to take place here in America.
It's clear that many strongly believe this was a racially motivated attack...
What happened in Atlanta is a hate crime. Anything else is spin. Standing with the Asian American community against hate today and forever.
— Jackie Venson (@jackievenson) March 17, 2021
And people have been rallying together both on the streets and online in protest of this kind of terrorism and, of course, to demand justice for America's Asian communities and the victims who lost their lives in this ruthless attack.
But what exactly has been happening to the person responsible?
Authorities connected suspect 21-year-old Robert Long to shootings at three metro spas through surveillance video and a vehicle description. #MorningRushATL pic.twitter.com/TzEnQor3Bi
— Jerry Carnes 11Alive (@jcarnes11alive) March 17, 2021
Well, Long is being held without bond in Cherokee County, where he faces 8 counts of murder and a charge of aggravated assault, according to the county sheriff's office.
During interviews, Long told police that he had a sex addiction and his attacks came from somewhat of a sexual nature...
And although he's taken full responsibility for the shootings, Long has been adamant that they weren't racially motivated.
Of course, the anger is still very much apparent...
But after a shocking news conference this week, anger has been well and truly turned upon Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office after he unbelievably said that Long was simply "having a bad day."
People are furious, to say the least...
I really don’t give a flying fuck if Robert Long was having a bad day. His egregious acts of violence were inspired by hate and the former guy was his inspiration.🤔
— Mark Fryer (@Markfry809) March 17, 2021
And have been taking to Twitter to slam Baker for showing "compassion" to the shooter and trying to tone down his horrific actions.
Police brutally murdered Angelo Quinto, who killed no one, during his episode.
— Tai Hailé (@TaiHaile) March 18, 2021
Police only detained Robert Long, who killed eight, because he tried to eliminate temptation for his addiction.
Both struggled with mental health. Which one had a worse "bad day?"#StopAsianHate
The more I think about it the angrier I get.
— Qondi 💛 🐝 🇺🇸🇿🇦🇿🇼 (@WeAreAllOther) March 17, 2021
This whole “sex addiction” framing and Captain Jay Baker leading with the whole “this poor fella had a bad day” is basically a spin on “they were asking for it”. The race and gender dynamics are so clear.
This is sick and depraved.
A white man, excuse me, a white TERRORIST shoots and kills 8 innocent people and Captain Jay Baker says it’s because he was having a bad day.....
— QueenMook 👑 (@NuffSaid2000) March 17, 2021
The official, Capt. Jay Baker of the Sheriff’s Office in Cherokee County made it immediately clear, from the time that his mouth opened to speak, that he was completely sympathetic to the assassin and not the victims. He's a captain. Just imagine what kind of people he hires.🤨
— cobssybil (@cobssybil) March 18, 2021
Question for Captain Jay Baker @CherokeeSO:
— Kendra F. Bozarth (@kendrabozarth) March 17, 2021
The family, friends, and loved ones of EIGHT people are having an extremely bad day, so it’s ok if they act on that right?
Captain Jay Baker, who said the shooter was having a “really bad day”, had been selling these t-shirts on his social media page.
— Hey, Dave! (@davegreenidge57) March 17, 2021
I guess business was slow at his day job. pic.twitter.com/xRDnLxJJlR
Distance learning today was hard. I had a really bad day and was fed up. I took a breather and started over. I did not, however, target Asian American women in a racially-charged murder. According to Captain Jay Baker, that's just what some people do. #StopAsianHate
— Marc Ruiz (@madshotmarc) March 17, 2021
"Yesterday was a really bad day for him..." -Captain Jay Baker
— Rod Pulido (@RodAPulido) March 17, 2021
Yes, it was a bad day for the homicidal racist, not for the Asian women he killed.
This is how white supremacists enable each other. This is America.#StopAsianHate #AsiansAreHumans
Speaking at Wednesday's news conference, Baker started by explaining how the suspect had taken responsibility for his actions.
"He does claim that it was not racially motivated and he has some kind of issue," the Captain said.
He then said this:
"Investigators interviewed him this morning and they got the impression that he understood the gravity of it and he was pretty much fed up, at the end of his rope, and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did."
Well, it didn't take long for Baker's appalling comments to have their consequences...
Captain Jay Baker is no longer the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office spokesperson in the case investigating the spa shooting after backlash over comments he made https://t.co/LWTaVmOg3h
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 18, 2021
According to officials, he has been removed as the spokesperson in the Atlanta-area spas shooting investigation amid the backlash over his controversial comments made about the suspect.
It has not yet been confirmed as to exactly why Baker has been taken off the case...
Gonna need Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office to be fired, thankyouverymuch.
— Ian, 10th of His Name (@KiltedIan) March 17, 2021
But it's clear it has a lot to do with his comments, though people are continuing to demand for him to either resign or be fired from his position.
Rest in Peace to all the victims who tragically lost their lives in this horrific attack.
Our deepest thoughts and condolences go out to their families during this terrible time.
Stay posted for updates on this developing story.