Officer faces criticism for saying suspected Georgia shooter had ‘a really bad day’

Capt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is facing backlash for the way he described the Georgia man charged with killing eight people Tuesday night.

“He was pretty much fed up and kind of at the end of his rope, and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did,” Baker said. 

Police have said Robert Aaron Long said he targeted massage parlors because he has a “sexual addiction” and wanted to “eliminate” places of “temptation.”

After Baker’s comments, “FOR HIM” began trending on Twitter, with many criticizing the officer’s rhetoric toward the shooter’s actions.

“Imagine losing your loved one to a senseless shooting, and the police captain says this about the shooter,” Angela Chen, morning anchor at KESQ, tweeted.

Imagine losing your loved one to a senseless shooting, and the police captain says this about the shooter:

“Yesterday was a really bad day for him, and this is what he did.”https://t.co/uevFtkbnGu

— Angela Chen KESQ (@AngelaWChen) March 17, 2021

Although Long has denied that he specifically targeted Asian people, many are condemning the attack as a hate crime against the Asian community, which has seen an increase in racist attacks since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, which was first reported in Wuhan, China. 

”Yesterday was a really bad day for him” is something you say when a toddler misbehaves. Cops LOVE to handle racist white mass murderers with kid gloves. https://t.co/G4IR3qiqoN

— Adam Best (@adamcbest) March 17, 2021

This Sheriff just casually said “He was pretty much fed up, at the end of his rope…yesterday was a really bad day for HIM and this is what he did” about the killer of 8 innocent people…mostly Asian Women who were targeted, hunted & brutally murdered. I have no words… pic.twitter.com/N4CQQqHs7I

— Star Jones (@StarJonesEsq) March 17, 2021

A bad day for HIM. Smh https://t.co/XZOreqJDDR

— Rex Chapman (@RexChapman) March 17, 2021

It was a bad day for HIM???
Are you fucking serious?

8 women are dead and these clowns are talking about how the shooter “had a bad day”.

Fuck every single second of this. Stop the sympathy with white supremacist murderers, ESPECIALLY coming from police. https://t.co/hvdxSrvABj

— Jennifer Scheurle (@Gaohmee) March 17, 2021

This is rage inducing. Not even 24hrs since he killed 8 people & a Cop apologizes for him b/c he had “a really bad day.” Watch white supremacy work.

“He was at the end of his rope & fed up. Yesterday was a really bad day for him & this is what he did.”
pic.twitter.com/zFaMoUTYIw

— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) March 17, 2021

Many lawmakers on Wednesday also warned of a surge in violence against Asian Americans.

Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) called the shooting “senseless and tragic” on Twitter on Wednesday, while fellow California Rep. Ted Lieu (D) accused the Trump administration of “inflaming hate against Asian Americans” amid the coronavirus pandemic, retweeting CBS News’s Weijia Jiang’s allegation that last year a White House official called COVID-19 the “Kung-Flu” to her.