Suspect in Atlanta massage parlour shootings that killed 6 Asians charged with murder - Global News

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A man suspected of fatally shooting eight people, the majority of whom were Asian, at three different Atlanta massage parlours Tuesday evening has been charged with murder and assault.

Cherokee County authorities said 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long was charged Wednesday with four counts of murder and one count of assault in Woodstock, where one of the massage parlour shootings took place.

In total, six of the people killed as a result of the shootings were Asian and two were white. All but one were women.


Read more: 8 dead in Atlanta-area shootings, many victims Asian women: police


Earlier on Wednesday, police said Long may have had a “sexual addiction” and lashed out at places he saw as sources of “temptation” that he sought to eliminate.


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Atlanta Police chief Rodney Bryant said Long was in custody and had claimed responsibility for the shootings, but added it was too soon to determine if the attack was a hate crime.

“We are still early in this investigation, so we cannot make that determination at this moment,” he said.

Police arrested Long late Tuesday night after a coordinated traffic stop in Crisp County, roughly 240 kilometres south of Atlanta, Cherokee County sheriff spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said.

He added Long was found with a nine millimetre firearm in his car at the time of his arrest. It is unclear whether the gun was purchased illegally.

0:38Georgia police say still too early to determine if Atlanta spa shootings were hate crimes
Georgia police say still too early to determine if Atlanta spa shootings were hate crimes

While the motive behind the attack remains unclear, the shootings have sparked outrage among Asian communities, who viewed the shootings as racially motivated.


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Hate crimes against Asian communities has skyrocketed by almost 150 per cent in the U.S. since the COVID-19 pandemic began last year, according to an analysis of police department statistics released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism earlier this month.

Asian American communities felt the brunt of the pandemic, which was frequently referred to as the “China virus” by then-president Donald Trump.

The shootings appear to be at the “intersection of gender-based violence, misogyny and xenophobia,” said Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen, the first Vietnamese American to serve in the Georgia House and a frequent advocate for women and communities of colour.

“We have been taught as Asian-Americans to keep our heads down because our parents believed it was safer for us,” she said.

“But what’s happened is that we are now invisible. And when things happen to us, people don’t speak up until a tragedy like this one occurs.”

We have a history of violence against Asian Americans in this country — including an immigration exclusion act directed at an entire continent. The rise in AAPI hate crimes is a continuation of the brutality AAPIs have endured since the inception of this country. #StopAAPIHate pic.twitter.com/iGgV65OLhl

— Bee Nguyen (@BeeForGeorgia) March 17, 2021

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Despite the ongoing investigation, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta said the “broader context” of the shooting “cannot be ignored.”

“The shootings happened under the trauma of increasing violence against Asian Americans nationwide, fuelled by white supremacy and systemic racism,” the group said a statement.

“We are heartbroken by these acts of violence.”

Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds said police first responded to the shooting at 4:55 p.m. Tuesday evening. They arrived at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor, near Woodstock, to find five people were shot.

Two people died at the scene, and three were taken to a hospital where two died, said Reynolds.

Less than an hour later, Georgia State Patrol spokesman Lt. Mark Riley said officers were alerted to a robbery at Gold Spa in Atlanta, GA, where they found three women had been shot. Soon after, he said they received another call at Aromatherapy Spa, just down the road, where the police discovered another woman had been shot.

0:48Suspect in Atlanta spa shootings was heading to Florida for possibly more attacks, mayor says
Suspect in Atlanta spa shootings was heading to Florida for possibly more attacks, mayor says

Shortly after, police said they were notified by members of Long’s family, who indicated their son may be behind the attacks. Officers said they were able to track Long’s cell phone, which helped them coordinate his arrest.


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At the time of Long’s arrest, police said the suspect appeared to be driving to Florida, “perhaps to carry out an additional shooting.”

Regardless of the shooter’s motivation, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said “it is unacceptable, it is hateful and it has to stop.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday U.S. President Joe Biden had been briefed on the “horrific shootings.”

“We are not yet clear about the motive. But I do want to say to our Asian-American community that we stand with you and understand how this has frightened and shocked and outraged all people, knowing the increasing level of hate crime against our Asian-American brothers and sisters,” U.S. vice-president Kamala Harris told reporters Wednesday.

More to come.

— With files from the Associated Press and Reuters


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