Outrage is growing following a shooting spree at three metro Atlanta spas that left eight people, including six Asian women, dead within the span of 45 minutes Tuesday.
The FBI arrived Wednesday morning in Crisp County, where 21-year-old shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long was captured Tuesday night at the end of a police chase. According to an agency spokesman, federal agents are assisting local authorities in a sweeping investigation into the killings in Cherokee County and the city of Atlanta.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms commended law enforcement for their quick work in apprehending Long, who is from Woodstock.
“A motive is still not clear, but a crime against any community is a crime against us all,” she said in a statement. “I have remained in close contact with the White House and APD as they work with federal, state and local partners to investigate the suspect who is responsible for this senseless violence in our city.”
MORE: Georgia state senator warned of Asian hate crimes the day before deadly shootings
Credit: Crisp County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Crisp County Sheriff's Office
Long was first identified as the suspect in the shooting at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor in Cherokee County that left four people dead and one person injured, according to the sheriff’s office. He is also a suspect in two more shootings at similar businesses in northeast Atlanta that resulted in four more deaths, according to a sheriff’s office spokesman.
Long was captured Tuesday night on the side of I-75 in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, when a state trooper performed a PIT maneuver on his SUV, causing it to spin out. He was taken into custody without incident and charged with murder.
“It does appear that it’s the same suspect,” Capt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee sheriff’s office told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He confirmed that surveillance images indicate that Long is the suspect in all three shootings.
Based on the pattern of the video evidence, “it is extremely likely our suspect is the same as Cherokee County’s,” Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. John Chafee added.
MORE: ‘Act of hate.’ National outrage after metro Atlanta shootings leave eight dead
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
The deadly shooting on Ga. 92 near Acworth took place just before 5 p.m., according to the Cherokee sheriff’s office. Five people were shot, with two declared dead at the scene and three taken to the hospital with injuries. Two of those injured later died at the hospital, according to the sheriff’s office.
The victims were two Asian women, a white woman and a white man, Baker said. They were identified as 33-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun of Acworth, 49-year-old Xiaojie Tan of Kennesaw, 54-year-old Paul Andre Michels of Acworth and 44-year-old Daoyou Feng, whose address was unknown. Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, a 30-year-old Hispanic man from Acworth, was injured and taken to a hospital. Hernandez-Ortiz was stable Wednesday, according to authorities.
It appeared all five victims were shot inside the business, Baker said. Surveillance footage showed the suspect pulled up about 4:50 p.m., minutes before the shooting.
Homicides are not common in Cherokee, where the sheriff’s office investigated just one in both 2020 and 2019.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer /
Credit: Alyssa Pointer /
While Cherokee officials were closing a shopping center and handling a congested road during their investigation, Atlanta police officers were responding to a shooting about 30 miles away.
Around 5:45 p.m., four more people were killed in shootings at two separate spas across the street from each other on Piedmont Road near the intersection with Cheshire Bridge Road, according to interim Atlanta police Chief Rodney Bryant.
Police first responded to Gold Spa, where they found three women dead from gunshot wounds inside the business, Chafee said. While investigating the scene, officers were called across the street to another shooting at Aromatherapy Spa, where they found another woman dead from a gunshot wound inside.
Atlanta police said that all four victims appeared to be Asian women. Officers were dispatched to check nearby similar businesses and patrols were increased in the area, Chafee said.
Credit: SHADDI ABUSAID / shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
Credit: SHADDI ABUSAID / shaddi.abusaid@ajc.com
While the names of the Atlanta victims were not released, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that its diplomats in Atlanta have confirmed that four were women of Korean descent. The ministry said its Consulate General in Atlanta is trying to confirm the nationality of the women.
Their deaths have sparked outrage among officials and advocacy groups in Georgia and across the country.
“These murders occurred at a time when anti-Asian violence has been spiking,” U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California, said on Twitter. “All officials should do their part to condemn violence and not inflame further discrimination.”
The counterterrorism unit of the New York Police Department said Tuesday it would deploy assets to Asian communities across the city “out of an abundance of caution.”
Crisp County officials were notified about the suspect’s movements on I-75 around 8 p.m. and deputies and GSP troopers eventually made contact with the black Hyundai Tucson about 30 minutes later, according to Sheriff Billy Hancock. The troopers performed a PIT maneuver, which caused the vehicle to spin out of control, Hancock said. Long was taken to the Crisp County jail.
Gov. Brian Kemp thanked law enforcement officers for “the quick apprehension” of Long in a tweet. He also sent condolences to the shooting victims.
“Our entire family is praying for the victims of these horrific acts of violence,” he wrote.
— The Associated Press contributed to this article.
