Leaders mark 2-year anniversary of Atlanta spa shootings with series of events
ATLANTA - Metro Atlanta paused to reflect on Thursday on the two-year anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings, where eight people, including six Asian women, were murdered. State and local leaders are honoring the victims with a series of events.
The Asian-American community came together in Atlanta and all across the country to honor the lives lost and continue to push for action against hate and violence.
State Rep. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, and members of the Georgia Legislative Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus held a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol.
The victims' families joined state lawmakers and members of the Asian-American community at a justice rally in downtown Atlanta Thursday.
Robert Peterson offered his condolences to the victims' families as he grieves the loss of his own mother on this somber anniversary.
"I know your struggles and grief. I know the difficulties of today and every day," Peterson said. "Two years later and our pain has only deepened. Our heartache palpable."
Peterson's mother Yong Ae Yue was among those killed.
Robert Aaron Long plead guilty to the deadly shooting at Young's Asian Massage Parlor near Woodstock where four people were killed and a fifth injured.
Less than an hour later, authorities say he drove thirty miles south to Atlanta and Piedmont Road, where he killed three women at Gold Spa, crossed the street, and killed a fourth woman at Aromatherapy Spa.
Erika L. Moritsugu, Deputy Assistant to the President and AA and NHPI Senior Liaison at the White House., delivered remarks President Biden's behalf during the rally.
"The remembrance is at the core the heart of what sparks this for us and I think it's the thing that animates us," Moritsugu said.
Michael Webb's grief has turned to frustration and anger the past two years. His ex-wife Xiaojie Tan was one of those killed. Webb, who is a gun owner, now lobbies for stricter gun laws.
"This morning, I was at the Capitol testifying on the first gun control, gun safety bill that's been allowed by the Republican side in decades," Webb said.
Webb believes the victims would be alive today if Georgia had a three-day waiting period to purchase guns.
"Two years ago, I thought we could change things very fast. It's not going to happen fast," Webb said. "I realize that now. I'm in it for the long haul."
There was also justice rally and documentary screening.
Young's Asian Massage Shooting: Cherokee County
The crime began on the afternoon of March 16, 2021, in Cherokee County. Deputies were called out to Young's Asian Massage parlor located along Georgia Highway 92 near Bells Ferry Road, about a mile west of Woodstock. It was there that 22-year-old Robert Aaron Long shot and killed four people — Xiaojie "Emily" Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54 — and seriously injured Elcias Hernandez Ortiz.
Atlanta Shootings
Eight people total were killed at three spa locations in Cherokee County and Atlanta on March 16, 2021. (Supplied)
Less than an hour later, authorities say Long drove about 30 miles south to Atlanta, 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.
Since the shootings, a broad coalition of AAPI people and allies have continued to speak out against anti-Asian discrimination and violence, work for increased gun safety laws and increase AAPI representation at all levels of government.
Atlanta spa shooter sentenced to life in prison
Spa shooter pleads guilty in Cherokee County to avoid death penalty
Robert Aaron Long entered a guilty plea in Cherokee County on Tuesday. He and his legal team reached an agreement with the DA to take the death penalty off the table for the four murders he committed in Acworth at the Young Asian Massage Parlor in March. For those four deaths and 23 charges, Long will serve four concurrent life sentences plus 35 years confinement for the crimes he confessed to in court.
Long admitted to the Cherokee County shooting by pleading guilty in court. 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."
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.
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. 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.
Two years later, the case is still pending.