What happened at Gold Massage Spa? Here's the massage parlor where Robert Aaron Long shot 3 women dead
Two unnamed men who live just across from Gold Massage Spa revealed the spa was known to be an Asian-owned business
By Jyotsna Basotia
Updated On : 22:29 PST, Mar 16, 2021
In a shocking turn of events, a Georgia man — identified as Robert Aaron Long — was taken in custody on Tuesday night, March 16, 2021, after a string of horrific shootings. The 21-year-old man who hails from Woodstock is the suspect in three metro Atlanta massage parlor shootings that left eight people dead, authorities said.
Based on video footage, Long was captured in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta. “It does appear that it’s the same suspect,” Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee Sheriff’s office told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. According to the Crisp County Sheriff's Office, Georgia State Patrol trooper performed a PIT maneuver on Long’s SUV as he drove south on I-75.
The victims included six Asian women. Five people were first shot, with two declared dead at the scene and three taken to the hospital with injuries. Two of those injured later died at the hospital, according to the sheriff’s office. Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported a Hispanic man was also injured in the shooting and was rushed to a hospital for medical treatment. Four more people were killed later.
What happened at Gold Massage Spa?
At about 5 pm, Long first entered Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Woodstock, an Atlanta suburb along Georgia Highway 92 and opened fire at five people, killing four. He then drove to Gold Spa and Aroma Therapy, killing four more people. A police chase followed and he was taken into custody in Crisp County 200 miles away.
Quoting police spokesman Sgt John Chafee, AJC reported that police first responded to Gold Spa, where they found three women dead from gunshot wounds. “While at [the first location] we received another call across the street of shots fired, and responded to find another individual shot at that location,” Atlanta Police Chief Rodney N Bryant told reporters, according to
The Daily Beast.
Where is Gold Massage Spa?
According to
DNB, Gold Spa is located in Atlanta, GA, United States and is part of the Rehabilitation Therapy Services Industry. The website claims Gold Spa has two total employees across all of its locations and generates $101,199 in sales (USD). However, the veracity of the website's information cannot be judged at this time.
The Daily Beast interviewed two unnamed men who live just across from Gold Massage Spa. According to the report, neighbors started asking them about the incident around 6:15 pm and revealed the spa was known to be an Asian-owned business. No owner's name is out yet.
“This is the worst shooting since ‘99 I think,” one of the men told The Daily Beast. “There was a shooting then where a guy went through his office and killed a bunch of people and he killed his family. That was 12 people I think, so this is the worst one since I’ve been here.”
Reviews: ‘Best service possible!’
On
BirdEye, it has 93 reviews and has been given a 3.6 rating. “Gold Spa was amazing. I went in and was greeted by a gorgeous young Asian woman. I paid the house and then was taken into a room where I was told to get undressed then she massaged me,” one customer wrote and another said, “OMG!!!!!!! – The ease of doing business was very welcomed, I was serviced (massaged, lol) by BB, a bronze Asian goddess. All the kinks were worked out and I had a new pep in my step, thank you for the therapy, I will be back.”
A third posted, “Best service possible! – These gorgeous Asian women REALLY know how to take good care of you! This is a one-of-a-kind experience and worth every penny! Talking about the revenue, one said, Gold Spa one of the best places out there – Stopped by Atlanta for a holdover and decided to look around online and decided that this had decent reviews, went there it's $60 to get in and then you get different massages, depending on what you tip. Some of the best-looking girls around. for the deluxe package, it's $350 so be prepared to drop some cash but then again I got the shower massage.”
Revealing intimate details, one went on to write, “Mainly Korean – Great and fast. went there around 4:30 pm yesterday. Mama San is Korean and the 2 girls that were there were from North Korea. In and out in 45 mins with shower.”
Just a spa or more?
On Twitter, a string of tweets surfaced, with many worried it was not just a spa. “They say he walked into Gold Spa at Piedmont Rd. near Cheshire Bridge Rd. and shot and killed three Asian women. They say he shot and killed a fourth Asian woman across the street, at Aromatherapy Spa. Then they say Long got back onto I-75 headed south,” reporter Jon Shirek wrote.
One controversial tweet with unproven claims and allegations read, “Both Young’s & Gold Spa (per RubMaps) were known & reviewed sex trafficking spas. I bet good money motive is more misogynistic than racist. I hope the owners & managers are charged with ‘felony murder’-death while human trafficking-w/ Long.”
Connecting the dots, one said, “The 2 Atlanta massage spa shootings occurred in the block of Piedmont where the Otherside Lounge was once located. That was the lesbian bar Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph (no relation) bombed in 1997,” adding, “Otherside was located at 1924 while Gold is 1916 and Aromatherapy is 1907.” Another confirmed, “Yep. Gold Spa is directly next door to the lot where Otherside Lounge was located.”
First reported by The Daily Beast, Long's Instagram account apparently had the bio: “Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life. It’s a pretty good life.”
He graduated from Sequoyah High in 2017. One of his former college mates told the outlet, “He was very innocent seeming and wouldn’t even cuss. He was sorta nerdy and didn’t seem violent from what I remember. He was a hunter and his father was a youth minister or pastor. He was big into religion.”
