President Biden ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the Atlanta-area spas shootings.
Biden issued the proclamation Thursday, two days after the shooting, and ordered the flags to fly at half-staff until sunset on March 22. Robert Long, 21, was charged with eight counts of murder Wednesday after he allegedly opened fire at three different parlors, killing eight people.
EIGHT DEAD IN SHOOTINGS AT THREE ATLANTA-AREA MASSAGE PARLORS
He allegedly shot and killed at least four people and injured one at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor around 5 p.m. About an hour later, police were dispatched to the Gold Spa and Aroma Therapy Spa, where four more dead victims were found. The second and third spas are across the street from one another, just south of Interstate 85. Seven of the victims were women.
Police on Wednesday released the names of the four people who were killed at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor: Delaina Yaun, 33; Paul Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, was identified by police as the person injured during the shooting.
Six of the eight victims were of Asian origin, leading many to suspect a hate crime, especially as there has been an increase in hate crimes against the Asian American community since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but the alleged shooter denied that was his motivation.
Long, in his interrogation with police, claimed that his attack was not racially motivated, law enforcement announced in the briefing, rather that it had to do with sex addiction.
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Captain Jay Baker said Long “did take responsibility for the shooting,” and he said the alleged perpetrator claimed to be a “sex addict.” Long also allegedly called these parlors a “temptation” that he wanted to “eliminate.”
“Tomorrow, the President and the Vice President will travel to Atlanta, Georgia,” the White House said Thursday. “Given the tragedy in Georgia on Tuesday night, President Biden and Vice President Harris will postpone the evening political event in Georgia for a future date. During their trip to Atlanta, they will instead meet with Asian-American leaders to discuss the ongoing attacks and threats against the community, meet with other local leaders, and also visit the Centers for Disease Control to receive an update from the team of health and medical experts helping lead the fight against the pandemic.”
