A Georgia church is praying for the victims of a shooting, saying the suspect's actions do not reflect the church's views.

On Tuesday, a 21-year-old man, Robert Aaron Long, allegedly killed eight people in two shootings at massage parlours near Atlanta, Georgia. Six of the eight were Asian, and all but one of the total victims were women.

CNN says according to a former roommate, Tyler Bayles, Long was "deeply religious." Long's church, Crabapple First Baptist Church in Milton, Georgia, says he was a member and grew up in the church.

"The Long family have been members of our church for many years. We watched Aaron grow up and accepted him into church membership when he made his own profession of faith in Jesus Christ," the church says in a statement. 

Atlanta's Mayor, Keisha Bottoms, released a statement saying her "prayers are with the families and friends of the victims whose lives were cut short by these shootings."

Devastated after learning about the shootings, the church is condemning Long, removing him from their church's membership.

"These unthinkable and egregious murders directly contradict his own confession of faith in Jesus and the gospel. We want to be clear that this extreme and wicked act is nothing less than rebellion against our Holy God and His Word. Aaron’s actions are antithetical to everything that we believe and teach as a church. In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the actions of Aaron Long as well as his stated reasons for carrying out this wicked plan. The shootings were a total repudiation of our faith and practice, and such actions are completely unacceptable and contrary to the gospel," Crabapple First Baptist Church says.

They are asking Christians to pray for the victims of the shootings:

  • Soon Chung Park, age 74

  • Suncha Kim, age 69

  • Yong Yue, age 63

  • Hyun Jung Grant, age 51

  • Paul Andre Michels, age 54

  • Xiaojie Tan, age 49

  • Daoyou Feng, age 44

  • Delaina Ashley Yaun, age 33

On Sunday, churches held a service in front of one of the massage parlours where the shooting occured, surrounded by memorials. Korean Central Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, St. Andrew Kim Catholic Church, Emmanuel Korean United Methodist Church, and Lutheran Church of Incarnation all shared a service together in Korean. These churches shared their respects for the victims and spoke about racial injustices.

Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock attended a rally on Saturday for the victims. Warnock is a Senator from Georgia and pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

"We all have a stake in each other’s wellbeing. I was glad to join the community in Atlanta with @SenOssoff today to remember & honor the lives of those we lost in Tuesday’s shooting, and take an urgent stand to #StopAsianHate against our Asian-American brothers & sisters," he tweets.

Long had told investigators after the shooting he had a sex addiction and the shooting was a reaction to his temptation. 

The Washington Post says Long struggled with purity culture, spending time at a treatment facility for sex and pornography addiction in 2019 and 2020. HIs former roommate told them he continued to struggle.

“He was racked with a very specific kind of guilt — which is to say religious,” Bayless told the Washington Post. “He was militant about it. I mean, this was the kind of guy who would hate himself for masturbating, would consider that to be a relapse.”

"We repudiate any and all forms of misogyny and racism. We categorically reject the idea that violence is appropriate, regardless of one’s issues or motivations. Murder, especially, is a heinous evil and grievous sin. We also explicitly denounce any and all forms of hatred or violence against Asians or Asian-Americans," Crabapple First Baptist says, saying women are not responsible for men's sexual sins against them. "Each person is responsible for his or her own sin. In this case, the shooter is solely responsible for his heinous actions, not the victims who were targeted."