Perspectives: 6 Asian American Women Killed in Atlanta Attacks

In one sense, it's immaterial whether the accused killer in the Atlanta spa shootings admits to a racist motivation. Asian Americans, already traumatized by a rising tide of hate, violence and rhetoric, have been living in fear for months.

The murders of eight people, including six Asian women, among them four South Koreans, further disoriented and horrified a community already unfairly stigmatized by racial association during a pandemic that originated in China. And they laid bare for the rest of the country the agony of yet another minority group left...

With six of the eight victims killed in recent shootings in Atlanta identified as of Asian descent, Asian Americans and lawmakers across the country have reported increased fear of attacks on their communities, amid an uptick in racially motivated attacks.

The question of motive swirling around the spa shootings is yet to be answered by law enforcement but it has drawn attention to how hate crimes are defined.

The suspect was arrested and charged with murder and assault after shootings at three Atlanta-area spas on Tuesday. Most of those killed...