2021 Atlanta spa shootings
On March 16, 2021, a shooting spree occurred at two spas and a massage parlor in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Eight people were killed and a ninth was wounded. A suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, was taken into custody later that day. Long pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
| 2021 Atlanta spa shootings | |
|---|---|
Young's Asian Massage parlor (second from right), where the first shooting took place (pictured 2018) | |
| Location | Atlanta and unincorporated Cherokee County, Georgia, U.S. |
| Coordinates |
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| Date | March 16, 2021 c. 4:50 p.m. EDT (20:50 UTC) |
| Target | Spas and massage parlors |
Attack type |
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| Weapons | 9mm semi-automatic pistol |
| Deaths | 8 |
| Injured | 1 |
| Perpetrator | Robert Aaron Long |
| Motive | Disputed
|
| Verdict | Pleaded guilty in Cherokee County murders Fulton County trial pending |
| Convictions | Malice murder (x4), felony murder (x4), aggravated assault (x4), and 11 other convictions (Cherokee County) |
| Charges | Domestic terrorism, malice murder (x4), felony murder (x4), aggravated assault (x4), and 6 other related charges (Fulton County) |
| Sentence | Four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole plus 35 years (Cherokee County) |
Long told police he was motivated by a sexual addiction that was at odds with his Christianity, for which he had spent time in an evangelical treatment clinic, and that he had been targeting establishments where he had previously paid for sex. While six of the eight people killed were women of Asian descent, Long denied that race had played any role in the killings, which was questioned by numerous organizations such as the CAPAC, CAA and NAPAWF, U.S. politicians Marilyn Strickland and Bee Nguyen, as well as by the South Korean media and the surviving victims and witnesses.
Long was charged with 19 crimes in Fulton County and 23 crimes in Cherokee County. He pleaded guilty to the Cherokee County charges and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The shooting was one of the main incidents that gave rise to the Stop Asian Hate movement, against the backdrop of rising anti-Asian sentiment in the country.