Source: Mark Makela / Getty
Philadelphia police aims to overprotect the businesses and communities of it’s Asian-American citizens, amid the terrorist act that took place last night in Atlanta.
Police arrested 21 year old, Robert Aaron Long, who was taken into custody in mint condition, after claiming the lives of eight Georgia residents in a matter of hours.
Entering three different massage/spa resorts, the first being 30 miles north of Atlanta, the second two across the street from one another in zone two; Long claimed the lives of six Asian-American women, a white man, a white women, and shot a Hispanic man coming out of a nearby store.
Long fled the scene and was apprehended 150 miles south of Atlanta, in Crisp county Georgia.
According to BBC.com, Long told officers he had an alleged “sex addiction” and “seen these locations as a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate”.
As Sheriff Frank Reynolds of Cherokee County uttered this excuse in a press conference; Keisha Bottoms, Mayor of Atlanta, took no part into this victim blaming sentiment that the suspect provided.
It is without question that massage parlors and strip clubs have been on record to offer prostitution services in a legal establishment, but Mayor Bottoms assures the press that “These are legally operating businesses that have not been on our radar”.
As #StopAsianHate trends online and many public figures speak out against xenophobia, the Philadelphia Police Department tweeted in response to last nights tragedy.
“While there is currently no known connection to our area, out of an abundance of caution, we have bolstered patrols around Asian communities and businesses” the PPD account tweeted; Assuring that their would be extra protection and a heightened sense of awareness among the Asian community in Philadelphia.
Our thoughts, prayers and condolences, are with the six families who lost of loved one due to senseless act of violence.
Philadelphia Police Plans to Tighten Patrol Around Asian Communities was originally published on rnbphilly.com
