On a Tuesday evening, March 16, 2021, Delaina Ashley Yaun, a 33-year-old white woman, sought a few hours of relaxation with her husband. The recently married couple, parents to an eight-month-old daughter and a teenage son, decided to visit Young's Asian Massage in a suburb north of Atlanta, Georgia. It was their first time at the spa, a planned escape to unwind together. They were in separate rooms when the unexpected horror began shortly before 5 p.m.
A gunman entered the establishment and started shooting, turning their peaceful outing into a scene of tragedy. Delaina was shot and killed while hiding in a corner of a room. Her husband, who was in another room, heard the gunshots but was physically unharmed, though he would emerge to the devastating loss of his wife.
The perpetrator, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, did not stop there. After killing Delaina and three others at the first location, he drove approximately 30 miles south into Atlanta and continued his deadly rampage, attacking two more spas, Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa. By the end of the evening, eight people were dead, and one person was wounded. The victims were a diverse group, including six women of Asian descent, another white man, and Delaina. The violent spree sent waves of fear and outrage across the nation, particularly within the Asian American community, which was already experiencing a rise in hate incidents.
Long was apprehended later that same day in Crisp County, about 140 miles south of Atlanta. His own parents played a crucial role in his capture, contacting law enforcement after recognizing their son in surveillance images released by the authorities. In custody, Long confessed to the killings. He claimed his motive was not racial but was instead rooted in a personal struggle with what he described as a sex addiction. He told investigators he targeted the spas because he viewed them as a source of temptation that he wanted to eliminate.
The legal process that followed was split between the two counties where the attacks occurred. In Cherokee County, where Delaina Ashley Yaun was killed, Long pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and other charges. In July 2021, he was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 35 years. The prosecutor in that case stated they did not find evidence of racial bias. However, in Fulton County, where the four other murders took place, the district attorney is pursuing a different path. There, Long faces charges including murder, felony murder, and domestic terrorism. Citing the fact that all the Atlanta victims were women of Asian descent, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty and have designated the crimes as a hate crime based on both race and gender. The case in Fulton County is proceeding much more slowly and, as of early 2026, remains in the pre-trial phase.
