The Cop Who Said The Alleged Atlanta Shooter Just Had A ‘Bad Day’ Previously Posted A Racist Shirt That Blamed China For The Pandemic

People are still reeling from the tragic shootings in the Atlanta area, in which eight people were shot to death at three separate massage parlors. Six of them were Asian, prompting concerns that the suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was racially motivated. On Wednesday, a sheriff’s official, Captain Jay Baker, was called out for the curious way he described Long’s apparent motives, telling reported that he’d simply had a “very bad day.” Now things are even worse: As per BuzzFeed, eh appears to have previously shared anti-Asian T-shirts online.

In a Facebook post from last April, Baker shared images of some parody shirts, in which the Corona beer label was replaced with the words “Covid 19 IMPORTED FROM CHY-NA.” It’s pure Trump, from blaming the East Asian nation for the pandemic to his preferred way of pronouncing its name. “Love my shirt,” Baker wrote. “Get yours while they last.”

The post disappeared shortly after BuzzFeed reached out to Baker, who did not otherwise respond.

During the same press conference Wednesday, Georgia police said it was too early to determine a motive for Long’s alleged massacre, saying that he’d explained that he had sex addiction issues, and that he’d targeted the massage businesses to “take out that temptation.” Baker then put it more succinctly, saying, “Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did.” His phrasing earned the ire of people already deeply upset.

https://twitter.com/quintabrunson/status/1372312535324495872

According to The New York Times, there have been nearly 3,800 reports of hate incidents against Asian-Americans across the nation since last March. Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump has long bandied about terms like “China Virus” and “Kung Flu,” and specifically blamed the nation for the pandemic. He even did it right before news of the massacre broke.

(Via BuzzFeed)