(Photo : Getty Images/Megan Varner)
ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 19: People bring flowers to the memorial sight set up outside of The Gold Spa on March 19, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. Mourners have gathered across the United States to pay respect to the Asian community after suspect Robert Aaron Long, 21, attacked three spas killing eight people, six of whom were Asian.
Eight weeks following the death of eight people in the Atlanta spa shootings, grand juries in Fulton and Cherokee counties arraigned the alleged gunman, according to the District Attorney's Offices on Tuesday. Fulton prosecutors seek the death penalty and pursue hate crime charges, as indicated in the court filings.
Prosecutors seek Death Penalty for Atlanta Spa Shootings Suspect
The suspect in the shootings was identified as Robert Aaron Long. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis issued a notice on Tuesday with the Fulton Superior Court that she wants the imposition of enhanced hate crimes charges and death penalty against Long in the first test of a hate crime law implemented by the Georgia Legislature in 2020.
He was indicted on domestic terror and murder charges. Since the March incidents rattled the Asian-American community, advocates have been pushing hate crime charges, reported USA Today.
According to Willis, "I am here with the team that I chose to seek an indictment in this case and move us one step closer to justice. I have put some of the most experienced and best attorneys on this case because it is important to every member of our community," reported 11 Alive.
Long, 22, was indicted in the March 16 slayings of Soon Chung Park, 74; Suncha Kim, 69; Yong Ae Yue, 63; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51. A separate Cherokee County grand jury arraigned Long for a separate shooting there that resulted in the killings of Daoyou Feng, 44; Xiaojie "Emily" Tan, 49; Paul Michels, 54; and Delaina Yaun, 33, reported Sun Sentinel.
The Fulton County arraignment charges Long with four counts of felony murder, four counts of murder, four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, five counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of domestic terrorism. The domestic terrorism charge indicated Long committed a series of illegal acts that were interrelated by distinct characteristics.
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The charges are based on the actual or perceived race, national origin, and gender of the women killed, according to the notice. No immediate filing in online court records was made in Cherokee County to denote whether DA Shannon Wallace is seeking hate crimes charges or the death penalty.
Georgia's new hate crimes law does not work as a stand-alone hate crime. Following a person's conviction of an underlying crime, a jury should determine whether it is a hate crime. This carries an extra penalty.
Seven of the victims gunned in the spa shootings were women. Six of them were of Asian descent. A number of public officials had earlier raised concerns that ethnicity was a factor in the shootings, particularly considering a nationwide surge in anti-Asian American violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Fulton County DA, she would like to seek hate crime charges and the death penalty against Long.
Authorities stated Long initially opened fire on March 16 at five people at the Youngs Asian Massage Parlor. Two of them died at the scene, and two died at a hospital. Police responding o a call about a robbery found three women dead from reported gunshot injuries at Gold Spa in Buckhead, Atlanta, one hour later.
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