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Who is Robert Aaron Long? Atlanta massage parlor shooter, 21, who gunned down 8 including 6 Asian women arrested

Atlanta police dispatched officers to similar spas in the area and increased patrols after the incident

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GEORGIA: A 21-year-old suspect from Woodstock was arrested for three Atlanta massage parlor shootings that left eight people dead, including six Asian women, said authorities. 

Robert Aaron Long, who was captured in South Georgia on Tuesday night, allegedly shot dead four people and injured one at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Cherokee County, according to the sheriff’s office. The identities of the deceased have not been revealed, but officials said two people died at the scene and three were taken to hospital, where two more died. He later confirmed that the victims were two Asian women, a White woman and a White man, and that a Hispanic man had been wounded. 

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He also allegedly gunned down people at similar businesses in northeast Atlanta that resulted in four more deaths, added the authorities. Police were called to a "robbery in progress" at Gold Spa in northeast Atlanta. "Upon arrival, officers located three females deceased inside the location from apparent gunshot wounds," police said in a statement. While there, officers were called to a spa across the street, called Aromatherapy Spa, where they found another woman shot dead.

Long was arrested on Tuesday night in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta. A Georgia State Patrol trooper performed a PIT maneuver on Long’s SUV as he drove south on I-75, according to the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office. He was reportedly taken into custody without incident and charged with murder.

Police said video footage showed the suspect’s vehicle in the area of the Atlanta spas about the time of those attacks as well. That, as well as other video evidence, “suggests it is extremely likely our suspect is the same as Cherokee County’s, who is in custody,” Atlanta police said in a statement. Since the shootings were all at massage parlors and spas, Atlanta police said officers were dispatched to similar businesses, and that patrols were increased.

Journalist Jon Shirek shared a couple of pictures on Twitter and said: "Here are photos of suspected shooter leaving massage parlor on Hwy 92 near Bells Ferry in Cherokee Co. Five shot, three of them have died as of 7 pm ET. Call Cherokee Co. Sheriff’s Office 678-493-4200 if you can help detectives. @11AliveNews." He further tweeted: "Cherokee Co. Sheriff’s Detectives don’t know motive. They’re talking now with Atlanta Police where they are investigating similar crimes this evening to see if they might be connected. @11AliveNews."

Sharing more pictures, he said, "There were at least two witnesses inside the massage parlor in Cherokee County. Detectives have been interviewing them. We don’t know, yet, if the gunman made any demands or other statements. @11AliveNews," and "Atlanta crime scenes: Piedmont near Cheshire Bridge. Three people shot/killed at Gold Spa, one person shot/killed across street at Aromatherapy Spa. Dancer at nearby club heard gunfire, everyone locked down inside, frightened. ATL attack was after Cherokee Co attack. @11AliveNews".

A student who graduated from Sequoyah High with Long in 2017 told The Daily Beast, “He was very innocent seeming and wouldn’t even cuss. He was sorta nerdy and didn’t seem violent from what I remember. He was a hunter and his father was a youth minister or pastor. He was big into religion.”

A 2018 video on the Crabapple Facebook page features Long discussing his Christian journey toward baptism. “As many of you may remember, when I was 8 years old I thought I was becoming a Christian, and got baptized during that time. And I remember a lot of the reason for that is a lot of my friends in my Sunday school class were doing that,” Long says in the clip. “And after that time, there wasn’t any fruit from the root that is our salvation. The son goes off and squanders all that he has and lives completely for himself and then, when he finds he’s wanting to eat pig food, he realized there’s something wrong and he goes back to his father and his father runs back to him and embraces him. And by the grace of God I was able to draw the connection there and realize this is a story between what happened with me and God. I ran away living completely for myself, and he still wants me, and so that’s when I was saved.”