Atlanta Spa Shootings: What We Know About The Victims

Eight people, including six women of Asian descent, were killed Tuesday after a gunman opened fire at three massage spas in northern Georgia.

Law enforcement officials apprehended Robert Aaron Long, 21, hours after the shootings and he confessed later that night to carrying out the attacks, police said.

During a news conference Wednesday, law enforcement officials said it was “too early” to determine whether the shootings were racially motivated. Long told investigators he had issues with “sexual addiction” and that he targeted the spas to “take out that temptation,” authorities said.

The killings shook Asian American communities across the country amid a surge in racist incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander people. Asian women were 2.3 times more likely to report being targeted in an incident of anti-Asian racism over the past year, according to a report from Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition that has been documenting these incidents.

Cherokee County officials released the identities of the five people shot ― four of whom were killed ― shortly after the incident at Young’s Asian Massage, the first spa where Long allegedly opened fire Tuesday. Atlanta officials publicly identified the four female victims of the subsequent shootings at Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa on Friday. Three died at Gold Spa, while one was found at Aromatherapy nearby; officials have not specified which women were at each location.

Here’s what we know about the victims so far:

Xiaojie “Emily” Tan

Tan, 49, was fatally shot at Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, a suburb of Atlanta. Public records indicate she owned the spa along with another business, Wang’s Feet & Body Massage, which was located about seven miles away.

Tan was a licensed massage therapist and previously held cosmetology licenses specializing in nails and face treatments, according to public records.

Greg Hynson, a friend and customer, described Tan as a hardworking small business owner. He said her friends called her Emily and that she had an adult daughter who recently graduated from the University of Georgia.