Video appears to show suspected Atlanta shooter entering massage parlor more than an hour before the

Publish date: 2024-07-03
2021-03-20T06:20:41Z

The suspected gunman accused of killing eight people at three spas in the Atlanta area on Tuesday went into the first establishment more than an hour before the first 911 call went out, The Washington Post reported Friday. 

Robert Aaron Long, 21, was seen in surveillance footage reviewed by The Post entering Young's Asian Massage in Acworth, Georgia, one hour and 12 minutes before the shooting there, where four people were killed.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Department identified the four victims as Xiaojie Tan, 49; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; and Daoyou Feng, 44.

Police say Long then went to two other spa businesses where a total of four people were killed. 

He has since been charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault in connection with the three attacks. 

The Post reported cars were driving up, and people were entering the spa after a man identified as Long on the video went inside. One hour and 12 minutes later, Long can be seen leaving the business. He left four minutes before 911 received the first call about the shooting, The Post reported.

What he was doing in the business for the time prior to the shooting is not yet clear. 

Later that day, police were called to the Gold Spa and the Aromatherapy Spa in Atlanta, where four more people were found dead. 

The victims were identified as Soon C. Park, 74, Hyun Jung Grant, 51, Suncha Kim, 69, and Yong A. Yue, 63.

Six of the eight victims were Asian women. 

Insider could not immediately reach an official at the Cherokee County Sheriff's office for comment on the surveillance footage. The department declined to offer The Post any additional details on when Long went into the spa and what happened before the shooting. The investigation is ongoing.

Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds on Wednesday said the crimes may have not been racially motivated, and that Long told police he had a sex addiction.

Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department said Long may have frequented the spas. 

"It's a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate," Baker said. 

Long was caught after a brief car chase, and officials said he was on his way to Florida where he was planning on targeting "some type of porn industry."

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