What happened in Atlanta and how many people died in the shooting?
TRIGGER man Robert Aaron Long is accused of having gunned down eight people at three different massage parlor locations in Atlanta on March 16. Of the eight victims gunned down – seven were women – six of whom were of Asian descent. What happened in Atlanta on March 16? The first shooting happened at around […]
TRIGGER man Robert Aaron Long is accused of having gunned down eight people at three different massage parlor locations in Atlanta on March 16.
Of the eight victims gunned down – seven were women – six of whom were of Asian descent.
What happened in Atlanta on March 16?
The first shooting happened at around 5pm at the Youngs Asian Massage Parlor off Bells Ferry Road and Highway 92 in Acworth, Georgia.
Long, 21, was captured by surveillance video pulling up to the business around 4.50pm, just minutes before the shooting.
Two people died at the scene. A further three were transported to hospital, were another two succumbed to their injuries.
From Young’s Asian Massage, it’s believed the gunman drove more than 30 miles and opened fire at two other businesses north of the city in the suburb of Woodland Hills.
Less than an hour later, police responded to a call of a “robbery in progress” at Gold Spa, in northeast Atlanta.
Three women were shot dead in that attack.
The gunman then headed to another spa situated just across the street, the Aromatherapy Spa, where officers found another woman deceased.
Long, 21, was arrested on the night of March 16 after leading cops on a three hour car chase, Cherokee County Sheriff’s spokesperson Howard J Baker said.
Long was only apprehended after authorities performed a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) to stop his vehicle.
The move “caused the vehicle to spin out of control” as Long was reportedly driving south on Interstate 75.
He was taken into custody “without incident” and was being held at the Crisp County jail.
The suspect is heading back to Cherokee County for a court hearing on Friday morning regarding the slaughters.
How many people died in the shooting?
Eight people died in the three separate shooting at a range of massage parlors.
The first shooting began at around 5pm on Tuesday, March 16, at the Youngs Asian Massage Parlor, where two people died at the scene and three casualties were transports to the hospital – two of which died from their injuries.
Afterwards, Long is believed to have then drove to Gold Spa, a massage parlor in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta.
There authorities found three women dead, a fourth women was shot dead at Aromatherapy Spa, just across the street from Gold Spa.
Of the eight dead, seven were women and one a man, according to officials. Two of the victims were white, cops said.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the four victims who died at Youngs Asian Massage Parolor were: Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, Paul Andre Michels, 54, Xiaojie Yan, 49 and Daoyou Feng, 44.
The one victim who was injured, but is in stable condition, was identified as Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, 30.
The identities of the four victims who were killed at Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa have not been released by officials.
South Korea have since confirmed that four of the victims were of Korean descent.
The deadly rampage caused an outpouring of supporter and solidarity towards the Asian community on social media, as the hashtag Stop Asian Hate began trending on March 17.
What did the sheriff’s office say about the suspect during the press conference?
Sheriff Frank Reynolds said in a press conference on Wednesday, March 17, that Long had potential “sexual addiction” issues.
Reynolds added that officials “believe” Long “frequently visited those places in the past” and that he “may have been lashing out.”
Cops confirmed that Long “did take responsibility for the shootings” and that he said the massage parlors were a “temptation that he wanted to eliminate.”
They added that Long claimed the attack was not racially motivated.
The Atlanta Police Department added that Long was on his way to Florida, where they believe he was going to “do similar acts in the state” targeting “some type of porn industry.”
Detailed also emerged that Long is a “God and gun loving” son of a pastor, with an extensive religious background.
The parents of “sex addict” Long spotted their son after authorities issued an online appeal to help identify the suspect from surveillance footage.
The “distraught” parents contacted them after seeing their online appeal, “indicating that that may be their son”.
“So we met with them. I was there speaking with the family. They’re very distraught and they were very helpful in this apprehension,” Sheriff Reynolds said.
An Instagram account that appears to belong to him reads: “Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life. It’s a pretty good life.”
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Long was found with a 9mm handgun when he was apprehended.
He told investigators that “he loved God and guns,” CBS News reported.
Little is known about Long’s current living arrangements and employment status. It is unclear if he was living with his parents.