Accused Atlanta spa shooter indicted by second grand jury as murder charges mount
Accused Atlanta-area spa shooter Robert Aaron Long faced more indictments Tuesday as a Cherokee County grand jury handed down its own set of charges in the March massacre in which eight people died and one was wounded.
The grand jury indicted Long on four counts each of malice murder and felony murder, plus criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, criminal damage to property in the first degree, and 11 counts of aggravated assault, the district attorney’s office announced.
The 22-year-old allegedly started his rampage at Youngs Asian Massage in Woodstock, Cherokee County, where he killed Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33, and Paul Michels, 54, and shot 30-year-old Elcias Rocendo Hernandez Ortiz in the face, severely wounding him.
Six other men and women present inside the business were also victimized, District Attorney Shannon Wallace’s office said.
The charges are added to those levied by a separate grand jury in Fulton County, the site of Long’s second massacre.
“Today we have taken another step forward in seeking justice for the victims of this crime and for their family members,” Wallace said in a statement.
Wallace did not say whether she would seek the death penalty. Her Fulton County counterpart, District Attorney Fani Willis, indicated Tuesday she would seek the death penalty and hate-crime charges.
Prosecutor seeks death penalty against gunman who killed 8 in Atlanta-area spas
After allegedly shooting up the Woodstock facility, Long headed about 25 miles south to downtown Atlanta, where police said he gunned down several more people.
An arraignment on the Cherokee County charges had not yet been scheduled as of Tuesday evening.
