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2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings

SOLVED2021Metropolitan Atlanta area, Georgia (Cherokee County and Piedmont Road, Atlanta)3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · ongoing investigation — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

On the afternoon of March 16, 2021, a shooting spree unfolded at three businesses in the metropolitan Atlanta area, killing eight people and wounding a ninth. The attacks began around 3:38 p.m. at Young's Asian Massage near Acworth in Cherokee County, where the gunman fatally shot Paul Andre Michels, Daoyou Feng, Xiaojie Tan, and Delaina Ashley Yaun González, and wounded another man. Roughly an hour later, shootings occurred at Gold Massage Spa and Aromatherapy Spa on Piedmont Road in northeast Atlanta, about 30 miles away, killing Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Soon Chung Park, and Yong Ae Yue. Six of the eight people killed were women of Asian descent; the ninth victim, a Hispanic man from Guatemala, survived a gunshot wound.

The suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long of Woodstock, Georgia, was identified after his parents recognized him from surveillance footage and contacted authorities, noting that his vehicle carried a tracking device. Long was located in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, and taken into custody that evening after a PIT maneuver ended a pursuit on Interstate 75. He was initially charged in connection with the Cherokee County shooting and later identified as a suspect in the Piedmont Road shootings as well.

Long told police his actions stemmed from a self-described sexual addiction that conflicted with his religious beliefs, and that he had targeted spas he had previously patronized for paid sex, intending to "eliminate the temptation." He denied that race played a role. This account was publicly disputed by numerous organizations, including the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, as well as by U.S. Representatives Marilyn Strickland and Bee Nguyen, South Korean media, and victims' families, who noted that six of the eight victims were Asian women amid a documented rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long was indicted on 19 counts in Fulton County, including murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and domestic terrorism, and on 23 counts in Cherokee County, including malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. On July 27, 2021, he pleaded guilty to the Cherokee County charges and was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole; Cherokee County's district attorney stated investigators found no evidence of racial bias. Fulton County prosecutors later announced they would seek the death penalty and pursue hate crime designations based on race and gender for the Piedmont Road shootings; Long pleaded not guilty to those charges on September 28, 2021.

The shootings drew national and international attention, contributing to the Stop Asian Hate movement, prompting congressional passage of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, and generating scrutiny of a sheriff's captain's public remarks describing the shooter as having had "a really bad day," which drew criticism after his own past social media posts containing anti-Chinese sentiment came to light.

Key facts

Victims
Daoyou Feng, Xiaojie Tan, Suncha Kim, Delaina Ashley Yaun González, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Paul Andre Michels, Yong Ae Yue
Date
2021
Location
Metropolitan Atlanta area, Georgia (Cherokee County and Piedmont Road, Atlanta)
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2021-03-16

    Shootings occur at Young's Asian Massage in Cherokee County and at Gold Massage Spa and Aromatherapy Spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta, killing eight people and wounding one.

  2. 2021-03-16

    Robert Aaron Long is taken into custody in Crisp County, Georgia, after a pursuit on Interstate 75.

  3. 2021-03-17

    Long is charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault; he confesses to the killings while in custody.

  4. 2021-03-19

    Police release the names of the eight deceased victims.

  5. 2021-05-11

    Long is indicted on 19 counts in Fulton County and 23 counts in Cherokee County.

  6. 2021-07-27

    Long pleads guilty to the Cherokee County charges and is sentenced to life without parole.

  7. 2021-08-30

    Fulton County prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty and designate the Piedmont Road shootings as a hate crime.

  8. 2021-09-28

    Long pleads not guilty to the Fulton County charges.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Daoyou Feng

    VICTIM

    Killed at Young's Asian Massage, age 44.

    citation on file

  • Xiaojie Tan

    VICTIM

    Killed at Young's Asian Massage, age 49.

    citation on file

  • Fani Willis

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Fulton County District Attorney who announced plans to seek the death penalty and hate crime enhancements against Long.

    citation on file

  • Suncha Kim

    VICTIM

    Killed at Gold Massage Spa, age 69.

    citation on file

  • Delaina Ashley Yaun González

    VICTIM

    Killed at Young's Asian Massage, age 33.

    citation on file

  • Soon Chung Park

    VICTIM

    Killed at Gold Massage Spa, age 74.

    citation on file

  • Hyun Jung Grant

    VICTIM

    Killed at Gold Massage Spa, age 51.

    citation on file

  • Paul Andre Michels

    VICTIM

    Killed at Young's Asian Massage, age 54.

    citation on file

  • Yong Ae Yue

    VICTIM

    Killed at Aromatherapy Spa, age 63.

    citation on file

  • Robert Aaron Long

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty to Cherokee County charges (malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault) and sentenced to life without parole; separately charged in Fulton County with 19 counts including murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and domestic terrorism, and pleaded not guilty to those charges; Fulton County is seeking the death penalty and hate crime enhancements.

    citation on file

  • Jay Baker

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Cherokee County Sheriff's Department captain who described the shooter as having had 'a really bad day'; removed from his spokesman role in the investigation after criticism, including over past social media posts.

    citation on file

  • Shannon Wallace

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Cherokee County District Attorney who stated investigators found no evidence of racial bias in the shootings.

    citation on file

  • Frank Reynolds

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Cherokee County Sheriff who commented on the investigation and later addressed criticism of a spokesperson's remarks.

    citation on file

Places

Metropolitan Atlanta area, Georgia (Cherokee County and Piedmont Road, Atlanta)

34.0882, -84.5811

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On March 16, 2021, a gunman killed eight people—six of them women of Asian descent—and wounded a ninth at two spas and a massage parlor in the Atlanta area. Robert Aaron Long was arrested hours later and pleaded guilty to the Cherokee County killings, receiving life without parole; he faces separate Fulton County charges including hate crime enhancements and the death penalty.
Where did the shootings happen?
Metropolitan Atlanta area, Georgia (Cherokee County and Piedmont Road, Atlanta).
Who was convicted?
Robert Aaron Long (Pleaded guilty to Cherokee County charges (malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault) and sentenced to life without parole; separately charged in Fulton County with 19 counts including murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and domestic terrorism, and pleaded not guilty to those charges; Fulton County is seeking the death penalty and hate crime enhancements.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. 2021 Atlanta spa shootingswikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — The Washington Postnews · The Washington Post · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — The New York Timesnews · The New York Times · 2026-07-07

Last verified JUL 2026

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