In Atlanta, an unfortunate, devastating event occurred that day where eight people were shot at a spa, six of them were of Asian descent. This brought terror through the Asian American community.

And according to the police, the attack was not racially motivated.

Nashville News 4 reported, “Robert Aaron Long, 21, told police that the attack was not racially motivated and claimed to have a “sex addiction,” with authorities saying he apparently lashed out at what he saw as sources of temptation. Six of the victims were identified as Asian and seven were women.”

Atlanta’s mayor had a few words about the event, “…regardless of the shooter’s motivation, “it is unacceptable, it is hateful and it has to stop.”

This attack was the sixth mass killing of this year and is now a part of the list of attacks against many Asian people in America. In January, an elderly man from Thailand was violently attacked and slammed to the ground in San Francisco, which resulted in his death. Many people began to receive a ton of violence and xenophobia due to the fallout of the coronavirus and reported many assaults which have been overlooked. Last year, there was a roar of hate, racism, discriminatory comments that many Asian people had experienced by the previous president, Trump, and the general public. With now this to add to the list of events.

Junior, Danielle Rangel, stated her opinion, “I would just say that Asian hate crimes are disgusting and that racism doesn’t just apply to a certain race. It applies to all races and the fact that people think it’s okay is even more concerning and sick. It defeats the whole purpose of equality and the steps we have tried to take to go against racism.”

Last Sunday, people hosted a vigil in Nashville to honor the lives of those who were killed that night. Many people came and many are still heartbroken. As the vigil honors the lives of those who passed, it also fights against racism and violence that occurs in America. When will it all end?