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Prosecutor To Seek The Death Penalty For Alleged Shooter Of Georgia Spa Attack

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Julia Canzano Contributor
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The prosecutor in the case against a Georgia man, who allegedly shot up multiple Atlanta businesses, said she will seek the death penalty, it was reported Wednesday.

Robert Aaron Long, 22, is accused by prosecutors of killing 8 people, many of whom were of Asian descent. Long was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury for four murders at two Atlanta-area massage businesses in March and is awaiting charges from a grand jury in Cherokee County where four additional people were killed and one was wounded, according to POLITICO.


Long is charged with four counts of murder, four counts of felony murder, five counts of assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and one count of domestic terrorism, according to POLITICO.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will also seek the death penalty and hate crime charges for Long.

Under Georgia law, a person must be convicted for a crime before a jury can decide whether it’s a hate crime. Hate crime charges are based on the actual or perceived race, national origin, sex, and gender of the victims, according to POLITICO. (RELATED: Biden Honors Atlanta Shooting Victims, Says Asian Americans Spent 2020 ‘In Fear For Their Lives’)

Police alleged Long shot and killed four people at Young’s Asian Massage around 5 p.m. on March 16th. Long then drove 30 miles south to Atlanta where he allegedly shot and killed three women at Gold Spa, and another woman across the street at Aromatherapy Spa, police said.

Long claims that the attacks were not racially motivated and that he had a ‘sex addiction’ that caused him to choose his targets.