Philadelphia police bolstering patrols around Asian communities following Atlanta-area shootings

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia police tweeted they are bolstering patrols around Asian communities and businesses following a shooting at three massage parlors in the Atlanta-area that killed eight, most of them women of Asian descent.

Georgia police have not linked the shooting to a hate crime, but still, Commissioner Danielle Outlaw felt it necessary to beef up patrols even though no similar threats have been reported in Philly.

"We have been in direct communication with liaisons from the Asian community so that we, one, maintain our lines of communication in the event something does need to be reported and to ensure we have increased visibility in areas," Outlaw said.

A local massage parlor owner who did not want to be identified says his window front was smashed a couple months ago.

"We don’t know exactly what happened but two glass panels was broken. But not that many people in Chinatown gets it so I don’t want to connect it to the hate crimes," he said.

The business owner says he tries to show his compassion for all people right now, saying it’s a troubling time in general.

"A great majority of people they understand. It’s only for very small, small amount of people that maybe they have hate in their mind. I think that they should rethink again because we are all friendly, please let’s just work together,’ he added.

Outlaw adding there may be many unreported hate crimes that have taken place in the city.

"There were maybe some fear of reporting some said crimes. We haven’t seen an increase here, but we wanted to do everything we can to keep open lines of communication so people are comfortable reporting if need be," she said.

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