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Violence against Asian Americans 'very troublesome', says Biden after Atlanta shootings

WION Web Team
Washington, United StatesUpdated: Mar 18, 2021, 10:59 AM IST
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US President Joe Biden Photograph:(Reuters)

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The local authorities have taken a 21-year-old male in custody on suspicion of the shootings, but have not confirmed it to be racially motivated yet

Hours after shootings at three different spas and massage parlors killing six Asian women, the US President Joe Biden has condemned violence against Asian Americans.

Talking about the incident and several other similar incidents in the past, Biden said the recent attacks against the Asian-Americans is "very troublesome".

"I know that Asian Americans are very concerned because, as you know, I've been speaking about the brutality against Asian-Americans for the last couple of months," he said in an interview. "I think that it is very, very troublesome."

However, he also stressed that while the shootings are troublesome, the motivation of these are not yet confirmed.

The local authorities have taken a 21-year-old male in custody on suspicion of the shootings, but have not confirmed it to be racially motivated yet.

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"This is still early, but (the suspect) does claim it was not racially motivated," Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said.

Biden's statement has come a little after his fellow Democrat and former US President Barack Obama took to Twitter to condemn these killings.

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"Although the shooter's motive is not yet clear, the identity of the victims underscores an alarming rise in anti-Asian violence that must end," Obama tweeted.

He also reminded people about the rising cases of gun violence in the country. "Even as we’ve battled the pandemic, we’ve continued to neglect the longer-lasting epidemic of gun violence in America," he said.