Prosecutor seeks death penalty against gunman who killed 8 in Atlanta-area spas
The gunman accused of a March 16 shooting rampage that killed eight people at Atlanta-area massage parlors, six of them Asian women, could be facing hate crime charges and the death penalty, a county prosecutor says.
Robert Long, 22, was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury on Tuesday for gunning down Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51, and Yong Ae Yue, 63, at two Atlanta spas.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicated she’d seek hate crime charges and the death penalty in the slayings. Under Georgia’s hate crimes law, a person must first be convicted of an underlying crime before a jury determines whether to also declare it a hate crime, for an additional penalty.
Long was indicted on four counts each for murder and felony murder, along with charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and domestic terrorism, according to online records cited by The Associated Press.
A separate grand jury in Cherokee County inducted him Tuesday in the deadly spa shootings of Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33, and Paul Michels, 54.
Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, was wounded in the attack.
The Cherokee County grand jury indicted Long on four counts each of malice murder and felony murder, plus criminal attempt to commit murder and a host of other charges.
Long blamed “an addiction to sex” for his crimes and admitted frequenting the massage parlors in the past, telling officers they were a “temptation he wanted to eliminate.” He also alluded to religious beliefs that shamed him. Parishioners at Crabapple First Baptist Church, where he was a member, voted to expel him less than a week after his murderous rampage.
The killing spree began in suburban Atlanta, where four people at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Woodstock were slain, two of them Asian women. Long is accused of then driving to Gold Spa in downtown Atlanta, killing three Asian women there before crossing the street to Aromatherapy Spa, where he fatally shot another woman of Asian descent.
The killings shook the Asian-American community amid nationwide race-based attacks stemming from misperceptions about coronavirus and its origin in Wuhan, China.
Long has denied he was fueled by racial hatred; South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported a witness allegedly heard Long shout, “I am going to kill all Asians” as he opened fire at one location. Long’s parents called authorities after recognizing their son in security video images the Cherokee County sheriff’s office posted on social media — providing information that helped authorities track their son to a rural area 140 miles south of Atlanta.
When law enforcement officials spotted Long’s SUV, one bumped Long’s vehicle, forcing it to spin to a stop. Long surrendered without a fight.
“You go to work, and you’re trying to earn money, and you have your family to feed, and you’re just trying to survive and be like everyone else,” an Atlanta hair salon worker said after the shootings. “And then stuff like this happens and it’s so scary. I am a part of the Vietnamese immigrant community, and I fear for our safety.”
With News Wire Services
