Congresspeople To Visit ATL Spa Shooting Sites To Honor Victims

METRO ATLANTA — Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus will travel to Georgia on Sunday to visit the three Asian owned spas where a shooter killed eight people on March 16, six of whom were Asian women.

The members of Congress will meet at Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, and then drive 27 miles to Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa in Atlanta. The members will lay flowers at the site of each shooting.

The members attending include:

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair: Congresswoman Judy Chu, of California
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus First Vice Chair: Congresswoman Grace Meng, of New York
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Congressman Second Vice Chair: Mark Takano, of California
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Associate Member: Congressman Al Green, of Texas
• Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux, of Georgia

After visiting the sites of the shootings, the members will host a roundtable discussion with local Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or AAPI, leaders at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, admitted to the killings and blamed the massage parlors for fueling his sex addiction. Long was charged in connection with the shooting at Young's Asian Massage in Acworth, and at the Aroma Therapy Spa and the Gold Spa in Atlanta on March 16.

Long was taken to the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center on March 17. He is currently charged with four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault, and has no bond, Baker said.

The shooting was one of the latest in a string of more than 3,800 reported anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents since the coronavirus pandemic started.

Georgia lawyers and Asian American Pacific Islander leaders banded together with the National Compassion Fund to launch the National AAPI Violence Prevention & Response Initiative, which kickstarted the two first-of-their-kind funds, per a Friday news release.

NCF's administrative expenses will be covered by a corporate donation from GoFundMe, guaranteeing that 100 percent of donations will go directly to victims' families, survivors and traumatized witnesses.

Donations can be allocated to the Atlanta 3/16 Survivors Fund, the first fund in the nation where funds go to the full victim base, or to the national AAPI Crime Victims and Education Fund. All donations are tax deductible.

Read more:

• Metro Atlanta Massage Parlor Shootings: 5 Things To Know
• GA Lawyers, AAPI Leaders Open Fundraiser For Spa Shooting Victims