A Facebook page appearing to belong to a Georgia sheriff’s office spokesman promoted a T-shirt with racist language about China and the coronavirus last year.
The Facebook account features numerous photos of Cherokee County sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker going back months. Baker's office is helping to investigate the recent massage parlor slayings that occurred in the Atlanta area.
Four of the eight people killed in Tuesday's shootings were in Cherokee County. The shootings come amid a rise in hate crimes against Asian-Americans.
The March 2020 Facebook post about the T-shirt said, “Place your order while they last." The account was deleted Wednesday night.
The discovery of the Facebook post comes amid concerns from some Asian Americans that authorities are not treating the killings as hate crimes. Baker didn't respond to requests for comment.
