OCA MOURNS VICTIMS OF ATLANTA SPA SHOOTINGS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 March 2021
Contact: Eiley Fong | Senior Communications Associate
202.223.5500 | eiley.fong@ocantional.org
Washington, DC - OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates deeply mourns the victims of the shootings that occurred on Tuesday evening in Atlanta, GA.
At the time of release, eight people were reported dead as a result of three shootings that occured within a few hours. Six of the eight victims were identified as Asian women.
This is one of the more violent tragedies in a string of about 3,800 hate incidents against Asian Americans, 68% of them women, and Pacific Islanders since March 2020.
“While the details of the shootings are unknown at this moment, it is clear that these individuals were targeted because they are among the most vulnerable in our country: immigrant Asian women,” said Linda Ng, National President of OCA. “Our community has been living in fear of verbal and physical attacks, and now we’re experiencing increasingly deadly tragedies of racism and violence. We call on Georgia officials to ensure the families of the victims are well supported, and for our followers to support local efforts that provide community protection and victim support. On behalf of OCA, we send our deepest condolences to the friends and families of tonight’s victims.”
“My mother, aunts, and I have been in a steady state of tension this entire pandemic,” said Thu Nguyen, Director of OCA and manicurist at a nail salon in Houston, TX. “This is beyond terrifying. We’re fearful of our lives in circumstances where we would otherwise feel safe — in our homes and at our jobs. Now, not only are we risking infection when going to work at the nail salon, we risk deadly targeted violence. It is not lost on me that the identified shooter is a white man; we must understand as a product of systematized and institutional racism.”
OCA calls for solidarity against hate and for action from elected officials to provide support to the AAPI community.
If you, your family members, someone you know, or community members have experienced xenophobia, discrimination, or harassment, please report the incident using our hate crime reporting tool at aapihatecrimes.org.
OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national civil rights organization dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).
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