President Joe Biden ordered American flags at U.S. buildings around the world to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims of the Atlanta massage parlor shootings – an action usually reserved for government or military honors.
The flag is typically flown at half-staff to honor political or military figures of the United States who recently died.
For instance, the flag is flown at half-staff for the first part of every Memorial Day.
‘By order of the President, the flag shall be flown at half-staff upon the death of principal figures of the United States Government and the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, as a mark of respect to their memory,’ reads the United States Code of Laws.
Biden made the proclamation on Thursday afternoon, two days after the violence in Atlanta.
Eight people were killed at three different massage parlors in the area, the worst mass killing in the United States in almost two years.
Six of the eight victims in the killing were women of Asian descent, sparking further fears for an Asian-American community already seeing an increase in racial violence.
The flag at the White House is flying half-staff in honor of the Atlanta murder victims
The New York Times reports the gunman has been charged with eight counts of murder.
The gunman charged in the incident, Robert Aaron Long, has claimed that he was not racially motivated to commit the killings, instead pointing to a sex addiction.
Nevertheless, investigators in the state are not ready to rule out the killings being classified as hate crimes.
Three women and a man were killed at Young’s Asian Massage before 5pm on Tuesday. The victims were Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, Paul Andre Michels, 54, Xiaojie Tan, 49, and Daoyou Feng, 44.
The victims for the other shootings haven’t been publicly identified yet.
A 911 call came in at 5:47pm about a potential robbery at Gold Spa, where three women were found shot. Another victim was found at Aromatherapy Spa across the street.
Long’s parents helped identify the gunman, who authorities later caught up to supposedly driving to Florida with a 9mm handgun.
Biden’s order will have the White House, federal buildings, and military posts around the country fly the flag at half-staff.
The same holds true for American bases and embassies overseas and around the world.
The American flags will remain at half-staff until sunset on March 22, which will mark six days since the attacks.
According to the Associated Press, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to meet with Asian American leaders in the Atlanta community on Friday.
Joe Biden ordered flags fly at half-staff in honor of the eight victims until sunset on Monday
Originally, they were set to go to Atlanta to talk about the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill.
Investigators for the case believe Long visited two of the massage parlors where four of the women were killed.
Long waived the right he had to an initial hearing in Cherokee County Magistrate Court.
Legislation has been introduced in Congress that would speed up the review of hate crimes linked to COVID-19, as well as provide support on the ground for local authorities in those cases.
Pictured: A spa in Atlanta, one of three where the victims were killed on Tuesday night
Aromatherapy Spa in the Atlanta area was where one victim was found on Tuesday night
Yiung Asian Massage, which was where four of the shooting victims were found Tuesday
China has been pointed to as the source of the novel coronavirus by many, with former president Donald Trump calling it the ‘China virus.’
This inflammatory labeling may be the spark for new acts of violence against the Asian-American population in the United States.
Research from Stop AAPI Hate reveals there have been nearly 3,800 incidents against Asian-Americans since March 19, 2020, with 68 percent of those incidents happening against women.
While 68 percent of the incidents were considered to be verbal harassment, 11 percent were physical assaults.
Pictured: A University of Washington student holds a sign during a rally on March 18
Pictured: A woman yells during a demonstration that sprung up after the shootings in Atlanta
In recent weeks, there have been numerous acts of violence against the Asian-American community. In February, 87-year-old Vichar Ratanapakdee, an immigrant from Thailand, was killed in an act his family has deemed racially motivated.
Denny Kim, 27, was beat in Los Angeles’ Koreatown as his assailants accused him of having the ‘Chinese virus.’
CNN reports 24 incidents against Asian-Americans in 2020 (out of 29) in New York City had the coronavirus as a motivating factor.
Source: Daily Mail US
