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Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in the shootings that left eight people dead at three Atlanta-area Asian spas, has been indicted on murder charges, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty for hate crimes targeting the sex and race of the victims.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed notice with the Fulton Superior Court Tuesday that she plans to seek the death penalty and enhanced hate crimes charges against Long in the first test of a hate crime law passed by the Georgia Legislature last year.
Willis said this is the law’s first application in Fulton County and, she believes, in the state.
Here’s what we know:
Indicted in Cherokee County: He was also indicted today in Cherokee County on four counts of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, 11 counts of criminal attempt to commit murder and aggravated assault, and aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and criminal damage to property in the first degree.
The new law specifies enhanced penalties for crimes where victims were targeted for, among other things, race, gender, and sexual orientation. Seven of the victims killed in the spa shootings were women, and six of the victims were women of Asian descent.
Some public officials had early on raised concerns that ethnicity had come into play in the shootings, particularly given a nationwide spike in anti-Asian violence during the coronavirus pandemic.
Long, 21, of Woodstock, Georgia, is suspected of opening fire at the spas on the afternoon and early evening of March 16, first at a business about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta, followed by two more at spas in northeastern Atlanta.
Indicted on 19 counts in Fulton County: He was indicted for a total of 19 counts in Fulton County: Four charges for malice murder, four charges of felony murder, one charge for domestic terrorism, five charges for aggravated assault, and five charges of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the indictment.
Peter Skandalakis, director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said the enhanced hate crime penalty for homicide in the state is either maximum of life in prison with possibility of parole at 30 years, life without parole, or the death penalty. Skandalakis said he wasn’t aware of the law being used over the last year.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said seeking the death penalty and enhanced hate crimes charges against Atlanta spa shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long sends a message that everyone within the community is valued.
Willis noted that last year she had told voters that she couldn’t imagine a circumstance where she would seek the death penalty. “And at that time I did not. Unfortunately, a case has arisen in the first few months of my term that I believe warrants the ultimate penalty. And we shall seek it,” she said.
“Death penalty cases are never easy. And this is a long journey. And so the biggest hurdle will just be having stamina. But some journeys are worth taking,” Willis added.
The district attorney said her office will also seek sentence enhancement, pursuant to Georgia’s hate crime statute, based on the race and gender of the victims. Willis said this will be the first time that the statute will be used in Fulton County and, to her knowledge, in the state of Georgia as a whole.
A grand jury in Cherokee County has indicted Atlanta spa shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long on murder and aggravated assault charges, the county’s district attorney, Shannon Wallace, announced today.
Long was indicted on four counts of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, criminal attempt to commit murder, 11 counts of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and criminal damage to property in the first degree.
Long was charged with murder in both Fulton and Cherokee counties in connection with the killings. In Fulton County, prosecutors said today that they plan to seek the death penalty and enhanced hate crime charges in the case.
According to the statement, a decision of whether the death penalty will be sought in the Cherokee County case will be announced prior to arraignment. At this time, no date for the arraignment has been scheduled, the release said.
Georgia State Rep. Bee Nguyen expressed relief over news that the Fulton County district attorney planned to seek the death penalty and enhanced hate crimes charges against Atlanta spa shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long.
What we know: Long was indicted for 19 counts total in Fulton County, according to a source familiar with the criminal investigation. Four charges for malice murder, four charges of felony murder, one charge for domestic terrorism, five charges for aggravated assault, and five charges of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the source.
The case against Robert Long, the man accused in a shooting spree across the Atlanta area that left eight people dead at three spas, will be the first test of the hate crimes law passed by the Georgia Legislature last year.
Robert Aaron Long was charged with murder in both Fulton and Cherokee counties in connection with the killings. Prosecutors said today that they plan to seek the death penalty and enhanced hate crime charges in the case.
Here’s some more detail on the hate crimes law and what it means to the case:
Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in a string of deadly shootings at three Atlanta-area Asian spas, is currently being held without bond.
The 21-year-old from Woodstock faces four counts of murder and a charge of aggravated assault in Cherokee County, according to the county sheriff’s office. He also has been charged with more four counts of murder, Atlanta Police Department said.
The shootings took place at two spas in Atlanta and another in Acworth, about 10 miles west of Woodstock — which left eight people dead.
Here’s what we know about the suspect:
Suspect had been treated for sexual addiction: Sheriff Frank Reynolds of Cherokee County, where the Acworth shootings took place, told reporters Long “made indicators that he has some issues — potentially sexual addiction — and may have frequented some of these places in the past.” Reynolds said those issues could be the motivation behind the shooting. A law enforcement source said the suspect was recently kicked out of the house by his family due to his sexual addiction, which, the source said, included frequently spending hours on end watching pornography online.
Gun was purchased legally: Long had a 9 mm firearm in his car when he was arrested, Capt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said. Long purchased his gun legally at a local gun store, Big Woods Goods in Holly Springs, Georgia, an attorney for the company confirmed to CNN.
His family turned him in: It was Long’s family who turned him in, Reynolds said, indicating the parents called police after seeing surveillance footage that authorities posted to social media.”We were contacted by members of the family indicating that may be their son, so we met with them,” Reynolds said. “They were very distraught, and they were very helpful in this apprehension.” Once investigators identified Long, the sheriff said, they tracked his phone and anticipated his movements, leading to his arrest in Crisp County.
There were nine victims in the March shootings at three different spas in the Atlanta-area. Of the eight people who lost their lives, six were Asian women.
Four people were killed at the spa in Cherokee County, about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta. They were identified by authorities as 33-year-old Yaun, of Acworth; Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta; Xiaojie Tan, 49, of Kennesaw; and Daoyou Feng, 44. One man, Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, survived.
Four people were also killed at the spas in Atlanta. The Fulton County Medical Examiner identified the victims as Soon Chung Park, 74; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Suncha Kim, 69; and Yong Ae Yue, 63.
Among them were mothers, a business owner and an avid cook.
Read more about the victims here.
The Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed notice that she plans to seek the death penalty and enhanced hate crimes charges against Atlanta spa shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long, according to a source familiar with the criminal investigation.
Long was indicted for 19 counts total in Fulton County, according to a source familiar with the criminal investigation. Four charges for malice murder, four charges of felony murder, one charge for domestic terrorism, five charges for aggravated assault, and five charges of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the source.
The March 16 shooting spree across the Atlanta area that left eight people dead at three spas will be the first test of the hate crime law passed by the Georgia Legislature last year, which specifies enhanced penalties for crimes where victims were targeted for, among other things, race, gender, and sexual orientation. Seven of the victims killed in the spa shootings were women, and six of the victims were women of Asian descent.
Peter Skandalakis, director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said that the enhanced hate crime penalty for homicide in Georgia is either maximum of life in prison with possibility of parole at 30 years, life without parole, or the death penalty.
Skandalakis said he wasn’t aware of the law being used at all over the last year. His agency’s mission is to provide support to prosecutors.
It will be up to a separate grand jury in Cherokee County to decide on charges for others killed in the shooting in Woodstock, Georgia, that left four killed and one person wounded.
Authorities in Cherokee County previously said that Long told investigators that the shootings were not racially motivated and told them he has a “sexual addiction.”
Long’s appointed attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.
The 21-year-old suspect from Woodstock, Georgia, about a half-hour drive north of Atlanta, is being held without bond in Cherokee County.
