Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Freethinker

Home
Nonreligious
‘Guns and God’ Baptist accused of killing eight at three Atlanta spas

‘Guns and God’ Baptist accused of killing eight at three Atlanta spas

Last updated on: March 18, 2021 at 5:28 pm by Barry Duke

‘Guns and God’ Baptist accused of killing eight at three Atlanta spas 2021-03-18T17:28:25+02:00 Barry Duke

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image via Crisp County Sheriff’s Office

DETAILS are still emerging regarding the killing of eight people – many of them women of Asian descent – at separate spas yesterday, but The Daily Beast has ascertained that the alleged gunman, Robert Aaron Long, above, was a devout Christian who attended Crabapple First Baptist Church in Milton, Georgia.

After Long, 21, of Woodstock, was arrested, his youth pastor at the church confirmed he was the suspect and said elders would be releasing a statement.

The church’s website has gone into privacy mode, and its presence on Facebook erased.

The tagline on an Instagram account that appeared to belong to Long said:

Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life. It’s a pretty good life.

The account was closed today.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a student who graduated from Sequoyah High with Long in 2017 told The Daily Beast:

He was very innocent seeming and wouldn’t even cuss. He was sorta nerdy and didn’t seem violent from what I remember. He was a hunter and his father was a youth minister or pastor. He was big into religion.

Long was caught on video at the crime scenes and later captured on a highway two hours south of Atlanta following a police chase, authorities said.

Police stressed that it was still much too early to announce a motive, but the horrific attacks come amid a wave of targeted violence against the Asian-American community.

The rampage began at Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth in Cherokee County, where two people were killed, one other person succumbed to their injuries en route to a nearby hospital, and one died while in treatment, according to the sheriff’s office.

The victims were two Asian women, a white woman, and a white man, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A Hispanic man was also injured in the shooting and was rushed to a hospital for medical treatment, a spokesman for the sheriff said.

About an hour later and 30 miles away, two spas on the same Atlanta street – Gold Spa and one in Aroma Therapy Spa – were targeted by gunfire, and four Asian women were killed.

Officers had just arrived at one of the spas to find the victims when they were summoned to the second.

Atlanta Police Chief Rodney N Bryant told reporters:

While at [the first location] we received another call across the street of shots fired, and responded to find another individual shot at that location.

Bryant declined to say whether police believe the shootings were to a hate crime, saying, “We can’t make that determination just yet.”

President Joe Biden recently condemned the surge in crimes of hate, which have included a brazen, deadly assault on an 84-year-old from Thailand who was killed on a morning stroll in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), in offering condolences to the families of the victims of the Atlanta shootings on Tuesday night, noted in a tweet that:

Many of the victims are Asian. These murders occurred at a time when anti-Asian violence has been spiking. All officials should do their part to condemn violence and not inflame further discrimination.

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus said it was “horrified” by news of the shooting “at a time when we’re already seeing a spike in anti-Asian violence.”

In testimony to the Georgia State Senate the day before the shootings, Michelle Au, a Democratic state senator representing Johns Creek, GA, said:

In the last year, 32 incidents of hate crimes towards our Asian-American and Pacific Islander community here in Atlanta have been reported … Recognize that we need help, we need protection, and we need people in power to stand up for us against hate.

Long’s family did not respond to calls for comment.

Update (18.3.2021): Religion Despatches today carries a piece entitled “Don’t Discount Evangelicalism as a Factor in Racist Murder of Asian Spa Workers in Georgia.” It says:

Conservative Christian men are prone to believe that they have pornography or sex ‘addictions’, even when they do not. Before he was apprehended by police, Robert Aaron Long was reportedly on his way to target the porn industry in Florida for violence similar to what he perpetrated in Georgia.

ABC News reports:

The man suspected of killing eight people in three separate shootings at spas in the Atlanta area on Tuesday has allegedly admitted to the killings and blamed his ‘addiction to sex’ as the motive, authorities said.

• Please report any typos/errors to [email protected]

If you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee – and boy, do I get through a LOT of coffee keeping this site active – please click the link below.

I’d love a cup of coffee

Previous Post

March 16, 2021

Hypocrisy: Sir Elton John slams 'stupid' RCC over gay unions stance

Next Post

March 18, 2021 Despite Christian & right-wing opposition Spain approves euthanasia

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Archive My Atheism News Opinion Reviews Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 March 2007 April 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the Christian view about material possessions?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Riches guarantee happiness They are the most important thing Seek them after righteousness They are temporary

Books by This Author Books by The Freethinker

See All Titles »