On Tuesday, March 23, eight people were killed in a shooting spree. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, at least 3 massage businesses were shot up. Six of the victims shot and killed at one spa were Asian American women. Police say they have not eliminated bias from the motive, even though the suspect had denied any racial persecutions. Fear has been stirred in the Asian community. People are worried. There are rallies everywhere; they are protesting; They want to feel safe in their own homes again.

Four people were shot first: Xiaojie Tan from Kennesaw, Delaina Ashley Yaun from Acworth, Paul Andre Michels from Atlanta, and Daoyou Feng, from Georgia. Unfortunately, all were fatal. Within an hour of the first shooting, four more women were killed at the spas in Atlanta. They were later identified as Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, and Yong Ae Yue.

Many people believe that the motive was racism. The suspect, Robert Aaron Long told investigators that he blames the spa business he targeted for providing an outlet for his addiction to sex. He told the police that racism was not a factor of the shootings. Still, this has provided the Asian community with fear of what will happen next, fear to walk alone outside, fear to live. It is an important topic that needs to be brought up more frequently. Racism should not be tolerated, no matter what race, what situation, what person. It doesn’t matter. 

Shortly after, there was another shooting at “Gold Spa” also located in Atlanta. There were two survivors, Eunji Lee and Eun Ja Kang who told nbcnews.com,  “He didn’t say a word. I think that alone shows how premeditated and bent on a motive he was,” 4 Asian-American women who were customers were shot and killed in this tragic event. The four killed in the Atlanta spas were Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; and Yong Ae Yue, 63.

Innocent people have been killed, families and communities have been broken. It is embarrassing how bad it’s gotten. A change must be made, that is what many people are working on currently. If it’s not stopped soon, there will sadly be more shootings to come. Something has to be done immediately.