Here’s a quick overview of the investigation thus far.
What has happened?
Asian Massage At Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, north of Atlanta, the first shooting occurred at 5:05 p.m. on Tuesday. A total of four people were killed and one more, a Hispanic male, was hurt.
By Scott Reinhard
Atlanta police responded at 5:47 p.m. to a report about a robbery at Gold Spa, in the northeastern area of the city. Three women were shot in the head by gunshots and were found dead in their bodies by authorities. Officers arrived on the scene to find the bodies of three women with gunshot wounds. They also received a report that shots were fired at an Aromatherapy Spa nearby.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office released surveillance photos of the suspect around 6:30 p.m. He was wearing a black shirt and driving a black S.U.V. Outside one of the massage parlours.
The Crisp County sheriff’s office, located 150 miles south of Atlanta, received the information that the suspect was driving south on Interstate 75 about 90 minutes later. The driver was taken into custody without any incident.
The suspect, who was white, has been identified as Robert Aaron Long (21), Woodstock, Ga.
According to authorities, a 9-millimetre gun had been found in Long’s vehicle. Big Woods Goods, a Canton gun shop, Ga. lawyer, stated that Mr Long purchased a gun legally from the shop on Tuesday before the shooting.
Six of the eight victims were Asian women.
According to law enforcement officials, six of the victims were Asian-American women. One was a white woman, and one was a white man.
On Friday morning, the four victims of the shooting at Atlanta’s two spas were identified. They were:
Soon C. Park: Ms Park (74), who worked at Gold Spa was the oldest person to be killed on Tuesday. Before moving to Atlanta, she lived in New York.
Hyun J. Grant: At 51, Ms Grant was a single mother and worked all night at Gold Spa. She needed to support her sons, who were in college tuition, their rent, and their bills.
Sencha Kim: Suncha Kim, 69, was employed at Gold Spa.
Yong A. Yue (63): Ms. Yue was a worker at Aromatherapy Spa and was the last victim of the shootings. In the 1970s, she moved from South Korea to the U.S. with her husband who was stationed in Army. They had two children and were divorced in 1980.
Four other victims had been identified by the police earlier:
Xiaojie Tan was the 49-year-old owner of Young’s Asian Massage. A customer described how she made her customers feel at home and treated them like family.
Do you Feng: 44-year-old Ms Feng was Ms Tan’s first employee to start working at the spa within the last few months.
Delaina Ashley Yaun was 33 years old when she was attacked by her husband. Ms Yaun, a mother of two children, grew up in the area. She had previously worked at a Waffle House.
Paul Andre Michels: 54-year-old Paul Andre Michels was born into a large family and is a veteran of the Army. He was born in Detroit and moved to Georgia 25 years ago.
According to his family, Elias Hernandez-Ortiz (30), was walking by the parlour when he was gunned down multiple times. He is still in critical condition.
The suspect was charged with murder.
Asian Massage According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Long was facing eight murder charges and one count of aggravated assault. He was being held without bond by the Atlanta Police Department.
According to the deputy chief of police, he was a customer at both the Atlanta spas targeted. One of his former roommates at the halfway house claimed that he had sought treatment for his sex addiction.
Asian Massage Whatever Mr Long’s motivation, Mayor Keisha Bottoms of Atlanta stated that the city wanted resources and protection for the Asian communities affected by the shootings.
This week, police departments in many American cities, including New York, Seattle and Houston, increased patrols in response to an increase in hate crimes against Asians.
According to Stop AAPI Hate, nearly 3,800 hate incidents against Asian Americans were reported in the United States since March last year.
On Friday, President Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris met leaders and legislators from the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Mr. Biden stated, “For all of the good that laws could do, we must change our hearts.” America cannot be a safe haven for hate. It must stop. It’s up to us all — all of it together — to stop it.”
What do we not know?
The authorities are still investigating the shootings and there is still a lot of information, including the motive. Although the police denied that they believed there was a racial motive, they have not dismissed it.
The federal Department of Justice and Georgia have not yet indicated whether they will pursue hate crime charges against the suspect.
Reporting was provided by Davey Alba and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs. Choe Sang Hu, Ben Decker. Richard Fausset. Giulia MacDonnell Nieto Del Rio. Frances Robles. Edgar Sandoval. Neil Vigdor. Allyson Waller. Michael Levenson.
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