Robert Aaron Long, suspected of shooting at an Atlanta massage parlor, took “responsibility” for the series of attacks on Tuesday night that left eight dead and one injured, officials said on Wednesday.
Law enforcement officials said the investigation was ongoing, but the the events were not considered to be racially motivated. Instead, they believe that Long opened fire because he saw the locations as “an outlet for him” to succumb to the alleged temptations of sex addiction, Captain Jay Baker of Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said during a press conference.
“He apparently has a problem, which he considers an addiction to sex, and sees these places as … a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate,” said Baker.
Long, 21, was reportedly on his way to Florida at the time of his arrest Tuesday night and indicated that he would potentially “carry out additional shootings,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told a news conference.
The authorities emphasized that the investigation is ongoing, with the authorities not making an official determination as to the reason for the attacks at this time. Reynolds said the suspect may have a “sexual addiction” and “may have frequented some of these places in the past”, but said it was too early in the investigation to say whether they were dealing with a hate crime.
Robert Aaron Long, a suspect in the Acworth shooting, was taken into custody in Crisp County, Georgia, on Tuesday. PHOTO: CRISP COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE
Long has so far been charged with at least four counts of murder and a single charge of aggravated assault, according to a press release. He is due to be sued on Thursday morning.
Reynolds said investigators were able to track his suspect in part because Long’s family contacted the police after surveillance images were posted on social media.
“Shortly thereafter, we were contacted by family members indicating that this may be their son, so we met with them,” said Reynolds. “They are very upset and have been very helpful in this apprehension.”
Police managed to track Long’s cell phone and arrested him without a problem, officials said. Police also said that Long was acting alone and that a 9 mm pistol was found in his car when he was arrested.
Long purchased the gun used in the shooting a few hours earlier, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Baker said the investigators “had the impression that, yes, he understood the seriousness of the situation and was almost fed up, on the edge. Yesterday was a very bad day for him and that is what he did.”
He didn’t say if Long looked sorry.
Long did not resist during his arrest in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, police said. When investigators interviewed him later, he “indicated that he has some problems, potentially sexual addiction, and may have frequented some of those places in the past,” Reynolds told reporters.
Investigators are still working to determine why, but said the victims may have been “targets of opportunity,” said Reynolds.
The attacks began on Tuesday night when five people were shot at Young’s Asian massage parlor near Woodstock, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, said Cherokee County Sheriff’s spokesman, Captain Jay Baker . Two people died at the scene and three were taken to a hospital where two died, Baker said.
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About an hour later, police responding to a robbery call found three women killed by apparent gunshot wounds at Gold Spa, near Atlanta’s Buckhead area, where tattoo parlors and strip clubs are just a few blocks away of mansions and skyscrapers in one of the last un-gentrified strongholds in that part of the city. The police then heard of a call informing shots fired in the street, at the Aromatherapy Spa, and found another one there.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims who died there as Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, Paul Andre Michels, 54, Xiaojie Yan, 49, and Daoyou Feng, 44.
The sheriff’s office identified a wounded man as Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, 30.
Little is known about the suspect, who is from Woodstock, and the authorities have not specified the charges. The police said his parents cooperated with the authorities.
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Police said two of the fatal victims were white, while the other six victims were Asian Americans. Seven victims were women.
“We are not about to blame the victims, to embarrass the victims here,” said Bottoms, adding that the police received only a minor call to 911 from one of Atlanta’s locations about stolen keys.
In a statement published on Wednesday, Bottoms said that “a crime against any community is a crime against all of us”.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.