WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd March, 2021) Senior FBI officials from three field offices and a Federal US attorney on Monday condemned acts of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in a statement that comes a week after a lethal shooting spree at three Asian spas in Atlanta.
On March 16, a gunman shot eight people dead, a majority of them Asian, during a shooting spree at massage parlors in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. FBI Director Chris Wray after the incident said it did not appear that the crime was racially motivated.
"The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the FBI condemn all acts of violence, racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the nation and in our communities," the release from the four officials said.
On Sunday, US Senator Tammy Duckworth during an interview said she disagreed with Wray's assessment and wants a deeper probe into the matter. NBC news also on Sunday reported, however, that US authorities have yet to find concrete evidence that would support hate crime charges.
In the statement, Acting US Attorney Raj Parekh said hate crimes and discrimination against anyone, including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, are reprehensible acts.
"We will not stand still amid the horrific reports of racist and xenophobic acts of violence targeting Asian American and Pacific Islander individuals and communities nationwide," he said.
FBI's Washington Field Office Assistant Director Steven D'Antuono, in the same release, said such hate crimes can have a devastating impact and bring fear to entire communities in the US.
The statement specified that the condemnation comes from Parekh, D'Antuono and FBI agents in charge of two field offices in Virginia.
According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, the incidence of hate crimes against Asian Americans rose by 149% in 2020 in 16 major cities compared with 2019.
