Paul Andre Michels was a handyman at Youngs Asian Massage who was among the eight killed in the spa shootings in the Atlanta area on Tuesday.
John Michels, his 52-year-old brother, told the Guardian that Paul was a “very good man” who would help out anyone. “He was just a regular guy, very good-hearted, very soft-natured,” he said.
Paul, 54, was one of nine siblings, and the family grew up in Detroit, Michigan. “Even though we’re not biological twins, we were basically twins. We hung out and did endless everything together,” John Michels said, recalling their youth. “Our dad would take us to the lake every Sunday in the summertime.”
John Michels said that his late brother had served in the US army in the 1980s and at one point, owned a home security and theater business. “Last year, he was talking to me, he was actually transitioning into owning a spa,” he said.
A local business owner in the same complex, who asked to remain anonymous, recognized Michels’s name on the list of victims released on Wednesday. He said that Michels, who was working as a handyman for the spa, would often buy tools from his business. Michels’s car remained in the parking lot on Wednesday, another lingering reminder of the loss.
Kikiana Whidby, a friend of the Michels family, told CBS46 that Paul had been out of work and doing handiwork for the spa recently. He had built his last shelf for the business on Tuesday. “He had been out of work for a while and this was something that came to him and he was really excited about,” she said.
“I’m mad, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” she added, noting that Michels and his wife were her son’s godparents.
