The man accused of killing eight people at three different Atlanta-area spas this week has been charged.
Robert Aaron Long, 21, was charged with four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault in the shooting and has no bond, according to the Atlanta police department.
EIGHT DEAD IN SHOOTINGS AT THREE ATLANTA-AREA MASSAGE PARLORS
He allegedly shot and killed at least four people and injured one when he opened fire at the Young’s Asian Massage Parlor around 5:00 p.m. About an hour later, police were dispatched to the Gold Spa and Aroma Therapy Spa, where four more dead victims were found. These spas are across the street from one another, just south of Interstate 85. Seven of the victims were women.
Six of the eight victims were also reportedly Asian, leading many to suspect a hate crime, given an increase in hate crimes against the Asian American community since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, however, the alleged shooter claimed that was false.
On Wednesday, police released the names of the four people who were killed at the Young's Asian Massage Parlor: Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, was identified by police as the person injured during the shooting.
Long, in his interrogation with police, claimed that his attack was not racially motivated, law enforcement announced during a Wednesday briefing.
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.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Hate crimes against Asian Americans spiked 150% throughout 2020, a year largely upended by the coronavirus pandemic, that is speculated to have fueled some of the rise in violence after the virus was first discovered in China in late 2019, according to a study from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
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