By Ethan Biando
In the late afternoon hours of Tuesday, March 16, police say 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long began a mass-shooting spree on his first of three Asian massage parlors in Georgia, according to state authorities. The man allegedly would go on to kill 8 and wound dozens in what has been described by many as a domestic terrorist attack and hate crime. Long, according to Sheriffs, told authorities that a ‘sex addiction’ was the reason for his attack.
Long, who was apprehended in South Georgia, is believed by law enforcement to be responsible for all three spa shootings that took place in the state. Authorities quickly announced that there was no immediate motive and urged the public not to jump to immediate conclusions, however, various facts began to slowly trickle out leading activists and many concerned citizens alike to declare the shooting a hate crime.
One user on Twitter wrote of Long “He was taken into custody alive. Because he’s White. Remember that. He didn’t get shot, he didn’t get beaten. He got taken into custody alive. Because he’s White.” The author brought up the concept of White privilege in police interactions, citing conversations surrounding mass shooters Dylann Roof and Nikolas Cruz.
Users also pointed to former president Donald Trump’s referral to the COVID-19 pandemic as possible inspiration for the shooting. The then-president used the term “China Virus” over 20 times publicly in just 14 days and continues to double-down on the statement, having again uttered the term at CPAC 2021.
Long is the son of a Baptist preacher. The bio of an Instagram page believed to belong to him reads “Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life. It’s a pretty good life.” The Woodstock native graduated from Sequoyah High School, a public school in Hickory Flat, in 2017. The man has been described as quiet, religious, and ‘innocent seeming.’ Long has also been described as an avid hunter.
A Facebook account with Long’s name and photo has also engaged in Anti-Chinese rants on Facebook, writing “China is engaged in a COVID coverup. They blocked our investigators from going to their lab in Wuhan and finding out the truth about the experiments they were conducting there.” The authenticity of the account has not been verified.
While it’s currently unclear if the targeted businesses had connections to sex trafficking, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has characterized the establishments as “legally operating businesses that have not been on our radar,” and went on to condemn “victim blaming.”
A spokesperson for the Cherokee County Sheriff, Jay Baker, has said Long most likely acted alone in a plight to eliminate possible temptations for sex addiction.
“These locations, he sees them as an outlet for him, something he shouldn’t be doing,” he said, adding that Long told authorities he had an “issue with porn” and was “attempting to take out that temptation.”
Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds added that Long possibly frequented the establishments in the past and “might have been lashing out.”
Officials say Long told investigators he was on his way to Florida, possibly plotting to target more spa businesses.
The killings, which come in the midst of an apparent rise in hate crimes against Asian citizens in places such as New York and San Francisco, have exacerbated race relations worldwide as well as in the Asian-American community, with many citizens feeling persecuted and in fear of their lives.
Long is currently in custody at the Crisp County Sheriff’s Jail.
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