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Man accused in Atlanta spa shooting appears in Fulton County court for hearing

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  September 28, 2023 10:56pm EDT
Atlanta-area spa shootings
FOX 5 Atlanta

Remembering the victims of the Atlanta spa shootings 2 years later

State lawmakers joined the families of the victims and members of the Asian-American community in Downtown Atlanta to mark two years since eight people were killed in a series of shootings at spas in Cherokee County and Atlanta.

ATLANTA - The man accused of going on a multi-county rampage targeting Asian spas was in Fulton County court on Thursday.

Robert Aaron Long still faces charges in the Atlanta spa shootings in Fulton County. Eight people, including six Asian women were murdered on March 16, 2021.

Robert Aaron Long pleads guilty in Cherokee County shootings

Long plead guilty to the deadly shooting at Young's Asian Massage Parlor near Woodstock where four people were killed and a fifth injured.

Eight people total were killed at three spa locations in Cherokee County and Atlanta on March 16, 2021.

Eight people total were killed at three spa locations in Cherokee County and Atlanta on March 16, 2021. (Supplied)

It was there that 22-year-old Robert Aaron Long admitted to shooting and killing four people — Xiaojie "Emily" Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54 — and seriously injured Elcias Hernandez Ortiz. 

He told investigators that he was drunk and was planning to go to the massage parlor due to a sex addiction before shooting himself.

"My hope is that I would hate myself enough at that point and possess enough self-loathing to end my life," Long told the court. "I was scared of killing myself. I wanted to try to overcome that so I could. So, I went up to the liquor store."

Atlanta Spa Shooting suspect serving life without parole

Two years after shootings at three spas in Cherokee County and Atlanta that killed eight people, including six Asian Americans, the man who claims responsibility for at least one of the shootings remains behind bars.

After pleading guilty to 23 charges, Long was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The Cherokee County district attorney, citing the racial diversity of the victims there — two of whom were white and one Hispanic — among other things, said they did not find evidence of racial animus.

Robert Aaron Long faces charges in Fulton County for shootings

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis felt differently, and is currently pursuing a sentencing enhancement under the state hate crimes law, saying she believes race and gender played a role in the Atlanta killings. 

Remembering the lives lost two years after the Atlanta spa shootings

Two years after the deadly spa shootings in metro Atlanta, the Asian-American community will come together to honor the lives lost and continue to push for action against hate and violence.

It was less than an hour after the shooting in Woodstock that authorities say Long drove thirty miles south to Atlanta and Piedmont Road, where he killed three women — Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51 — at Gold Spa, crossed the street and killed 63-year-old Yong Ae Yue at Aromatherapy Spa.

Long still faces charges including murder in the Atlanta killings and has pleaded not guilty. Willis is seeking the death penalty in addition to a hate crime sentencing enhancement.

Thursday, a witness took the stand to discuss Long’s mental and emotional health.

The pre-trial motions hearing is expected to continue Friday.