Singer, Rihanna says she is heartbroken as she reacts to the brutal and senseless mass shooting in a massage parlour in Atlanta on Tuesday. Her reaction is coming after the worldwide condemnation of the Asian hate crime in the United States, following repeated attacks on Asian-Americans across cities in America, since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rihanna who took to her official social media on Wednesday to condemn the attack and also show her support to the Asian community in America, said:
“I’m heartbroken for the Asian community & my heart is with the loved ones of those we lost,” she said.
She continued by adding that:
“What happened yesterday in Atlanta was brutal, tragic & is certainly not an isolated incident by any means. AAPI hate has been rampantly perpetuated & it’s disgusting! The hate must stop,” she added.
Eight people were killed and one person was wounded in the attacks. Two of the shootings were at spas across the street from each other in northeast Atlanta and the other happened about 30 miles away in Cherokee County to the northwest of the city.
“Video footage from our Video Integration Center places the Cherokee County suspect’s vehicle in the area, around the time of our Piedmont Road shootings,” the Atlanta Police Department said in a news release.
“That, along with video evidence viewed by investigators, suggests it is extremely likely our suspect is the same as Cherokee County’s, who is in custody. Because of this, an investigator from APD is in Cherokee County and we are working closely with them to confirm with certainty our cases are related.”
Speaking on behalf of the Chinese government, the Chinese Foreign Ministry in a press briefing by its spokesperson, Zhao Lijian on Thursday, said that violence against Asians in the U.S. was “outrageous and distressing,” leaving China “deeply concerned.”
American authorities should “take practical measures to resolve issues of racism and racial discrimination at home, and earnestly safeguard and protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in the United States,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing.
Zhao said some American politicians had “instigated racism and hatred, and condoned discrimination against Chinese students in the United States.
“The United States should take practical measures to resolve issues of racism and racial discrimination at home, and earnestly safeguard and protect the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in the United States,” Zhao said about the Asian hate crime.