Biden and Harris to meet with Asian American leaders in Atlanta after shootings

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are meeting with Asian American leaders at Emory University on Friday to discuss the recent rise in attacks against the Asian American community. The private visit comes after shootings at three Atlanta-area spas this week which resulted in the deaths of eight people, including six Asian American women. 

Officials in Georgia said at a Wednesday morning press briefing that the suspect took responsibility and claimed it wasn't racially motivated, but instead was due to his self-proclaimed "sex addiction." But Asian Americans in Georgia and across the country are reeling from the shootings, which took place after a year of increased attacks on Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. A report by the group Stop APPI Hate found Asian Americans faced 3,800 hate incidents in the past year. The president ordered flags at the White House and on federal grounds in the U.S. and abroad to be flown at half-staff on Tuesday, announcing that the flags will be lowered until sunset on March 22 "as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence."