Capt. Jay Baker.
Cherokee County Communications Director Erika Neldner announced on Thursday that she will now be handling media inquiries related to the investigation of fatal shooting, whichleft eight people — including six Asian women — dead, theAssociated Pressreported.
Andrea DeCourcey, an executive assistant for the sheriff’s office, toldThe Washington Postthat she did not know why or how Baker was taken off his role as spokesman for the case.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and the Cherokee County Communications Division did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Baker, who is the director of communications and community relations at the sheriff’s office, sparked an uproar on social media this Wednesday when he told reporters that the suspected shooter in the investigation — 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, who has been arrested and charged for the killings — had “a really bad day” and “this is what he did.”
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Reynolds said in the statement that the sheriff’s office “regret[s] any heartache Captain Baker’s words may have caused.”
“That’s where we have to look at Jay’s future at the Sheriff’s Office and what it looks like,” Reynolds said. “We haven’t made that determination yet.”
To learn more and to report crimes, go to:Asian Americans Advancing Justice,Stop the AAPI Hate,National Council of Asian Pacific Americans,Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA, andAsian Pacific Policy & Planning Council.
source: people.com
