CLEVELAND — Taking to Twitter in the early hours of Wednesday morning, LeBron James expressed sympathy for the Asian community following a string of shootings at three Asian-owned spas in Atlanta that killed eight victims. He also addressed the alleged shooter, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, as a "coward a-- young man."
"My condolences [go] out to the families of all the victims and the entire Asian community tonight on what transpired in Atlanta at the Aromatherapy Spa," James tweeted following the Los Angeles Lakers' win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. "Coward a** young man!! Just senseless and tragic!!"
James' post came hours after Long was arrested in Crisp County, Georgia which is off I-75 in South Central Georgia, about 150 miles south of Atlanta.
The shooting spree began around 4:55 p.m. on Tuesday at Young's Asian Massage Parlor, on Highway 92 near Bells Ferry in Cherokee County. Four people were killed and one man was injured as a result of the shooting.
The second and third shooting occurred about 45 minutes later at Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa on Piedmont Rd. in Midtown Atlanta. According to Atlanta police, three people were killed at the Gold Spa, while a fourth person was killed across the street at the Aromatherapy Spa.
Officials have described the four victims who were killed at Young's Asian Massage Parlor as two Asian women, one White woman and one White man. All four victims at Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa were Asian women.