Atlanta spa shooting suspect faces hate crime charges
Eight weeks after eight people were killed at three metro Atlanta spas, grand juries in both Fulton and Cherokee counties indicted the alleged gunman, the District Attorney’s Offices said Tuesday. Fulton prosecutors also plan to seek the death penalty and pursue hate crime charges, according to court filings.
Robert Aaron Long, 22, was indicted on four counts of murder in the March 16 shootings, along with aggravated assault, domestic terrorism and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony, the Fulton indictment states. In Cherokee, Long was also indicted on four counts of murder, criminal attempt to commitmurder, aggravatedassault, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and criminal damage to property in the first degree, the District Attorney said.
Following the indictment,
Fulton DA Fani Willis filed notice that she is seeking the death penalty — a move that comes a year after she spoke out against capital punishment while running for the office. Cherokee DA Shannon Wallace said no decision has been made about whether she will also seek the death penalty.
Investigators believe Long’s killing spree started at Youngs Asian Massage near Acworth, where he shot five people, killing four. Ashley Yaun, 33, Paul Andre Michels, 54, Xiaojie Tan, 49, and Daoyou Feng, 44, all died from their injuries.
From there, Long is accused of driving 30 miles to Atlanta, where he again targeted spas.
Atlanta officers were called to a report of a robbery at the Gold Spa. Inside, officers found three women dead from gunshot wounds. While investigating that incident, officers were told shots were fired across the street at the Aromatherapy Spa. There, investigators found another woman shot to death.
Yong Ae Yue, 63, Soon Chung Park, 74, Suncha Kim, 69, and Hyun Jung Grant, 51, were killed in the Atlanta businesses.
Later that night, Long was arrested in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta. He was later charged with murder in both Cherokee and Fulton counties. After his arrest, Long told investigators he was overwhelmed by what he described as a sexual addiction at odds with his religious beliefs.
Though Willis filed paperwork Tuesday to seek the death penalty, only one Georgia jury has handed down a death sentence during the past seven years.
If Long is convicted of a crime found to be motivated by hate, could face at least two additional years for a felony and a fine up to $5,000.