Atlanta shooting: LeBron James condemns hate crime against Asian community, fans mourn

LeBron James has taken to Twitter and expressed his anger about the recent Atlanta shooting where eight people lost their lives in three massage parlours across Atlanta. The events transpired on Tuesday evening after eight individuals were shot to death with six of the eight coming from an Asian background. The local police authorities have noticed the rising fear in Asian people due to the crimes which seem to target individuals of a certain descent.

Earlier considered as a robbery gone wrong, the Atlanta police was wrong in characterising the first shooting at the parlours. The first shooting took place at Young’s Asian Massage where four people lost their lives. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker mentioned how the event was reported around 5 PM with the information provided of a Hispanic man being injured. He went on to add how it all happened near Acworth which is a northwest suburb in Atlanta

The Atlanta police also revealed the information about the second shooting which was reported around 5:47 PM. The local authorities were quick but to no avail as they responded to a robbery in the northeast part of Atlanta. The police went on to share how they found gunshot wounds and the dead bodies of three women at Gold Spa. The officers also reported how they were at the second site when reports of gunfire across the street were shared with them. Being in close proximity, the police did not take any time to reach the Aromatherapy Spa, only to find the dead body of a woman.

LeBron James Twitter message for victims of Atlanta Spa Shooting

Speaking on the Atlanta shooting incident, LeBron James expressed his condolences to the families of all the victims. He went on to extend his support to the entire Asian community after the transpired events. Calling out the suspect a "Coward a** young man!!" Lebron James went on to describe the act as "senseless and tragic!!" 

Since over six victims were of Asian descent, the local police and the authorities involved are said to believe that the crime had a racial motivation which has led to the rising fear of the majority of people in the district. Reports from Stop AAPI Hate revealed that since March 2020, more than 3,800 hate incidents have taken place across the country which have been targeted towards Asian-Americans across America. It has led to the police department increasing patrols in major areas of the city where the Asian-American community resides along with the aim to provide their best possible support to them.