Nothing would deter Kat Bagger from standing up and trying to unify Atlantans based on the principles for which her city is known.
That was how she responded to the shootings at three Georgia spas that left eight people dead, six of them women of Asian descent, reports NBC News.
“This is incredibly upsetting, the Asian community is a cornerstone of Atlanta, and this just blows my mind that we’re seeing the amount of violence toward Asian people,” said Bagger, 23, who is Black and hoisted a Stop Asian Hate sign Wednesday in front of Gold Spa, one of the shooting sites. “Atlanta is a civil rights city. This is what we do, we protect the people.”
Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, Georgia, is charged with eight counts of murder in connection with the Tuesday evening shootings. He blamed his actions on sex addiction and denied to police that race was a motivation.
Four people were killed at two spas in Atlanta, Gold Star and Aromatherapy Spa. The other four were fatally shot at Young’s Asian Massage in Cherokee County, about 30 miles away.
An assortment of flowers covered the ground in front of the three spas late Wednesday as people periodically showed up to vent and protest despite rain.
“Black lives matter, black lives matter,” shouted Atlanta resident Malik Peay, briefly stalling two lanes of oncoming traffic on Piedmont Road, where the two Atlanta spas are located, in protest.
“Every life matters. Asian lives matter. Black lives matter, and even White lives matter,” said Peay, 40, who is Black, after allowing the dozens of backed-up vehicles to pass.
“He (the alleged shooter) definitely didn’t love these people, and if he did, that’s not the type of love that anyone needs in their lives,” he continued. “This is heinous and it’s close to being a terrorist crime.”
Bagger also doesn’t buy Long’s sex addiction narrative.
“It was fully racially motivated,” Bagger said, pointing out there are several sex shops and strip clubs nearby, but three Asian businesses were targeted. “I need the Asians to know that the Black community stands behind them.”
