Spa shootings: Rallies across US against hate

People gather for a march at Times Square to express solidarity with the Asian and Pacific Islander communities on Saturday. Pic/AFP

A diverse crowd gathered Saturday near the Georgia state Capitol to demand justice for the victims of recent shootings at massage businesses and to denounce racism, xenophobia and misogyny.

Hundreds of people of all ages and varied racial and ethnic backgrounds gathered in Liberty Plaza in Atlanta, and in similar rallies across the country.

In Atlanta, they cheered US Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and Georgia state Rep Bee Nguyen, the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Georgia House.

"I just wanted to drop by to say to my Asian sisters and brothers, we see you, and, more importantly, we are going to stand with you," Warnock said to loud cheers.

Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old white man, is accused of killing four people inside two Atlanta spas and four others at a massage business about 50 kilometres away in suburban Cherokee County. Six of the eight people killed Tuesday were women of Asian descent. Another person was shot but survived.

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