ATLANTA — The 21-year-old man accused of killing eight people at three metro Atlanta spas said it was a sexual addiction — and not the race of victims — that led him to the alleged crime spree, police said Wednesday.
Robert Aaron Long, accused in three shootings about an hour apart Tuesday in Cherokee County and northeast Atlanta, told investigators he frequented the types of businesses he allegedly targeted: massage parlors. And though six of those killed were Asian, investigators said it’s too early to call the shootings hate crimes.
”During his interview, he gave no indicators that this was racially motivated,” Cherokee Sheriff Frank Reynolds said Wednesday. “We asked him that specifically and the answer was no.”
But Long did take responsibility for the shootings, Capt. Jay Baker with the Cherokee sheriff’s office said. Long, according to Baker, said the massage parlors represented a “temptation he wanted to eliminate.”
Long also told investigators his plan was to drive to Florida and commit similar crimes. But he was caught late Tuesday about 150 miles south of Atlanta, thanks in part to his parents, according to police.
On Wednesday, the Cherokee sheriff’s office and Atlanta police confirmed Long was charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. Though the FBI was assisting with the investigation, police said it was too early to say whether Long would be charged with committing hate crimes.
But across metro Atlanta, Georgia, and the country, many struggled to make sense of the violence. Mourners shocked by the news carried flowers to the spas to honor those whose lives were taken.
“Our hearts are breaking for the victims and their families, and we’re certainly keeping them in our prayers,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday. “Just heroic actions by law enforcement to catch that deranged individual very quickly. ... We’ll let the investigation continue, but it was a tragic night in our state.”
Meanwhile, investigators continued to piece together the string of crimes that ended late Tuesday when Long was arrested roughly 150 miles south of Atlanta.
Earlier Tuesday, Long bought a gun from Big Woods Goods in Holly Springs, an employee told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Now the store is cooperating with law enforcement. A 9mm firearm, believed to be the murder weapon, was found when Long was arrested.
The string of crimes started shortly before 5 p.m. near Acworth at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor, according to police. Surveillance cameras captured a man believed to be Long entering the business, then leaving after shots were fired. Four people died from their injuries, according to police.
They were identified Wednesday as Ashley Yaun, 33, of Acworth; Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta; Xiaojie Tan, 49, of Kennesaw; and Daoyou Feng, 44, of an unknown address. A fifth victim, Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, of Acworth, was in stable condition Wednesday. Tan was the owner of the business, according to records on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website.
About an hour later, Atlanta police responded to a report of a robbery at the Gold Spa on Piedmont Road.
In the first of two 911 calls within 11 minutes, a woman inside the business said she was reporting a robbery. Speaking softly, she said she was hiding inside the business and that she needed police on Piedmont Road.
”They have a gun,” she tells the dispatcher.
When the dispatcher asked where the man was, the employee replied, “I don’t know. I’m hiding right now. … Please just come, OK?”
When officers arrived, they found three women shot to death inside the business. While police were investigating those deaths, shots were fired at the Aromatherapy Spa across the street. There, investigators found a fourth woman dead.
The names of the four killed in Atlanta were not released Wednesday pending notification of family members, according to police.
While Atlanta officers were investigating the back-to-back shootings, the Cherokee sheriff’s office quickly released surveillance images of the suspect. Long’s parents contacted investigators after seeing the photos, Baker said.
“We are really appreciative of the family,” he said. “Certainly this has been difficult on them.”
Cherokee and Atlanta investigators were immediately in contact to discuss similarities in the shootings, Atlanta interim Chief Rodney Bryant said. From there, investigators tracked Long by his cellphone, Reynolds said.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said during a Wednesday morning press conference that investigators believe Long may have been attempting to drive to Florida and possibly commit additional crimes. But he didn’t make it that far.
Crisp County deputies, along with the Georgia State Patrol, were waiting for Long as he entered the county. After a PIT maneuver, a method used by state troopers use to stop a vehicle, Long was arrested without incident. He was later returned to Cherokee, where he was being held without bond late Wednesday.
While law enforcement leaders said the investigation into Long’s motives was in the early stages, Bottoms and others condemned the crimes while expressing condolences.
“It was stunning. It was tragic. It certainly was heartbreaking,” Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore said. “I’m happy, so very happy, that we’re not at this moment trying to figure out who did it. The person responsible has been apprehended and will be meeting justice.”
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(Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writers Joshua Sharpe, Greg Bluestein and Wilborn Nobles contributed to this report.)
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