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Saturday 20 March 2021

EXCLUSIVE: Blood splattered on the floor and disheveled massage rooms abandoned in terror: First look inside Asian spa where Atlanta gunman spent 72 minutes inside before opening fire and killing four

 Blood is seen splattered on the floor in the first photos from inside Young's Asian Massage Parlor where gunman Robert Aaron Long, 21, opened fire and killed four in the first stop of his crime spree. 

Exclusive photos show the interior of the spa, with the bodies removed but drops of blood still visible on the floor at the entrance and in the hallway leading to the massage rooms.

Other photos show massage tables with the sheets disheveled as workers and spa-goers rushed out of the building in a hurry to save their lives.  

According to surveillance video obtained by DailyMail.com, Long spent 72 minutes inside the first shooting site, supporting widespread speculation that he received a massage before opening fire. 

DailyMail.com took exclusive photos Thursday showing the interior of the Young\'s Asian Massage Parlor, with the bodies removed but drops of blood still visible on the floor at the entrance and in the hallway leading to the massage rooms

DailyMail.com took exclusive photos Thursday showing the interior of the Young's Asian Massage Parlor, with the bodies removed but drops of blood still visible on the floor at the entrance and in the hallway leading to the massage rooms

Four people were killed at this location before the gunman moved on to two other spas in the Atlanta area

Four people were killed at this location before the gunman moved on to two other spas in the Atlanta area 

A massage bed is seen inside the Young\'s Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, Georgia after the fatal shooting

A massage bed is seen inside the Young's Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, Georgia after the fatal shooting 

Just outside, the sidewalk was adorned with flowers and hand-written notes, one listing the names of the victims and declaring \'Say Their Names.\' A young man held a sign stating \'Stop Asian Hate\'

Just outside, the sidewalk was adorned with flowers and hand-written notes, one listing the names of the victims and declaring 'Say Their Names.' A young man held a sign stating 'Stop Asian Hate'

The hallway of the Young\'s Asian Massage is now a crime scene as police investigate the gunman\'s motives

The hallway of the Young's Asian Massage is now a crime scene as police investigate the gunman's motives 

The reception area desk is seen inside the spa in Acworth, Georgia. The spa was the first of three massage parlors the killer targeted

The reception area desk is seen inside the spa in Acworth, Georgia. The spa was the first of three massage parlors the killer targeted 

It appears the spa was gearing up for St. Patrick\'s Day, as a green hat and bow are seen next to a sign advising customers to be cautious of Covid

It appears the spa was gearing up for St. Patrick's Day, as a green hat and bow are seen next to a sign advising customers to be cautious of Covid 

Small droplets of blood can be seen on the ground next to flowers and cards memorializing the victims of the shooting

Small droplets of blood can be seen on the ground next to flowers and cards memorializing the victims of the shooting 

A bullet hole is seen at the business next door to the spa. The bullet went into Gabby\'s Boutique after shots were fired next door

A bullet hole is seen at the business next door to the spa. The bullet went into Gabby's Boutique after shots were fired next door

Long pulled up to Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth Tuesday afternoon and spent an hour parked outside in his vehicle stalking people entering the spa, video shows. He then walked inside and spent more than an hour there. The shooting took place around 5pm, police said.

After opening fire and killing four people, video shows the door swing open and Long exiting, hopping into his vehicle and speeding off on his way to two more spas where he killed Ann other four people.

Robert Aaron Long, 21, killed eight people - six Asian women, a white woman and a white man - in a three-hour crime spree at three different spas on Tuesday

Robert Aaron Long, 21, killed eight people - six Asian women, a white woman and a white man - in a three-hour crime spree at three different spas on Tuesday

Long bought his 9mm handgun hours before the rampage. He was on his way to Florida to carry out more attacks when he was caught. 

Now just outside the spa, the sidewalk is adorned with flowers and hand-written notes, one listing the names of the victims and declaring 'Say Their Names.' A young man held a sign stating 'Stop Asian Hate.'

It appears the spa was gearing up to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, with green bows and hats along the reception desk next to a sign advising customers to take Covid precautions. 

Next door to the spa at Gabby's Boutique, DailyMail.com shows a bullet hole that pierced through the wall.  

Long shot dead eight people including six Asian women at three parlors - one in Acworth and two in Atlanta - on Tuesday. He then went on the run and was driving to Florida to target porn-industry locations when he was arrested 150 miles south of Atlanta. Police rammed his Hyundai off the road to take him into custody. 

Atlanta police said Thursday that 'nothing is off the table' in the investigation of the deadly shootings at Georgia massage parlors, including whether it was a hate crime.  

'Our investigation is looking at everything, so nothing is off the table,' Deputy Atlanta Police Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said at a news conference.

Four of the eight victims have now been named as; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz was injured but survived. Friends of Yaun say that she and her husband were there for a couple's massage. He escaped but she was killed.  

Not all of the victims were staff. Yaun's friends say she was a paying customer who was in the parlor to get a couple's treatment with her husband. 

Initially, police said they were probing whether race was a factor in the attacks because six of the eight victims were Asian women. 

But on Wednesday morning, they said Long told them that was not why he carried out the attacks. Instead, he said he is addicted to sex and porn, and wanted to remove the 'temptation' of the parlors.  

Long bought his 9mm handgun hours before the rampage at Big Good Woods Gun Range
A 9mm similar to the one Long used is pictured

Long bought his 9mm handgun hours before the rampage at Big Good Woods Gun Range. He was on his way to Florida to carry out more attacks when he was caught. A 9mm similar to the one Long used is pictured 

Robert Aaron Long arrives at, then departs, scene of shooting
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Video shows Robert Aaron Long sat in car for an entire hour, exactly 60 minutes, before stepping out

Video shows Robert Aaron Long sat in car for an entire hour, exactly 60 minutes, before stepping out

One man who\'d been getting a massage with his wife sat outside in handcuffs, as his wife lay dying inside. Police still hadn\'t identified a suspect, so restrained him as a precaution.

One man who'd been getting a massage with his wife sat outside in handcuffs, as his wife lay dying inside. Police still hadn't identified a suspect, so restrained him as a precaution.

Within minutes the video shows a few lucky survivors exiting the spa, followed by the arrival of cops and paramedics as one victim is seen on the sidewalk with blood flowing from a bullet wound to the head

Within minutes the video shows a few lucky survivors exiting the spa, followed by the arrival of cops and paramedics as one victim is seen on the sidewalk with blood flowing from a bullet wound to the head

DailyMail.com has obtained yearbook photos of a younger Robert Aaron Long from 2016 and 2018
DailyMail.com has obtained yearbook photos of a younger Robert Aaron Long from 2016 and 2018

DailyMail.com has obtained yearbook photos of a younger Robert Aaron Long from 2016 and 2018

He told police that he saw the parlors as an 'outlet' for his sex addiction. Detectives have not clarified if he had ever engaged in sex acts with any of the staff there. 

He has been charged with four counts of murder and aggravated assault in Cherokee County, where the first salon is that was targeted. He hasn't yet been in charged in Atlanta. 

'He claims that it was not racially motivated... he has an issue that he considers a sex addiction and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places... it's a temptation for him that he wanted to eliminate,' Captain Jay Baker of the Cherokee Sheriff's Office said at a Wednesday press conference.

Baker added that it had been a 'very bad day' for the suspect, and said: 'He was at the end of his rope'. He didn't elaborate on what had happened earlier in the day. 

Exclusive video shows gunman Long parked outside Young's Asian Massage Parlor Tuesday afternoon, sitting patiently in the driver's seat of his black Hyundai Tucson for exactly an hour and eerily watching people enter before he stepped inside and opened fired, killing four. 

Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, was killed in the first parlor in Acworth. Her friends claim she was a customer and had gone to the parlor in Acworth to get her own massage when she was killed

Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, was killed in the first parlor in Acworth. Her friends claim she was a customer and had gone to the parlor in Acworth to get her own massage when she was killed

The surveillance video obtained by DailyMail.com, shows the door swing back open and Long step out. The 21-year-old rushes back to his vehicle, hops in and speeds off to continue his massacre at two other Atlanta area spas.

Moments after he drove off, the video shows a few lucky survivors exiting the spa, followed by the arrival of cops and paramedics a few minutes later. One victim was carried out and left on the sidewalk with blood flowing from a bullet wound in the back of their head. 

One man who'd been getting a massage with his wife sat outside in handcuffs as his wife lay dying inside. Police still hadn't identified a suspect at the time and restrained him as a precaution.

Alex Acosta, who works with his wife Rita Barron at Gabby's Boutique next door, was washing his hands in a sink in the back of his shop when the first shot rang out. He told DailyMail.com he heard four shots in short succession. 

Running to the front of the store, he saw three woman who'd just exited the spa and were standing on the sidewalk.

'Somebody inside, they shot, they shot!' one of the women, of Asian dissent, cried out to him, her English limited.

Acosta called out to his wife, directing her to 'call 911!' Barron was inside the shop, which one of the bullets pierced, leaving a tiny hole in the shared wall.

Acosta saw the man who'd been placed in handcuffs. He recognized him as Mario Gonzalez, whose wife Delaina was inside with a fatal bullet wound.

'Mario looked at me and he told me his wife was still inside,' Acosta recalled. 'He told me to tell the police.'

When Acosta's wife told a cop about Delaina, the officer replied, 'I know.'

Rita Barron had know Delaina for years. She said Delaina would shop in her boutique. Barron would also see her at a nearby Waffle House where Delaina worked as a waitress.

'I feel sad for all the families because we knew all the people who were involved,' Barron said. 

Four of the eight victims have now been named as; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz was injured but survived

Four of the eight victims have now been named as; Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44. Elcias R Hernandez-Ortiz was injured but survived

More and more flowers, signs and balloons were put in front of the spa overnight to memorialize the lives taken

More and more flowers, signs and balloons were put in front of the spa overnight to memorialize the lives taken 

'I feel sad for all the families because we knew all the people who were involved,' shop owner Rita Barron said. Her friend Delaina was killed in the spa 

Long went on the run and was driving to Florida to target porn-industry locations when he was arrested 150 miles south of Atlanta. Police rammed his Hyundai off the road to take him into custody

Long went on the run and was driving to Florida to target porn-industry locations when he was arrested 150 miles south of Atlanta. Police rammed his Hyundai off the road to take him into custody

Three shootings at spas and massage parlors around Atlanta left eight people dead and police on the hunt for those responsible

Tributes are paid to the shooting victims Thursday with signs that read \'#StopAsianHate\'

Tributes are paid to the shooting victims Thursday with signs that read '#StopAsianHate'

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told CNN on Wednesday that she wanted the most severe charges possible against Robert Aaron Long, 21.

'I think whatever the stiffest most appropriate charges there are, this guy should face those charges,' said Bottoms.  'In Georgia, you can be charged with a hate crime. It covers a variety of areas and I personally think it would be appropriate, but I will defer to the prosecutors to make that determination.' 

Long, who was arrested shortly after the shootings, has told police that his attack was not racially motivated. He said he was suffering from a sex addiction, and wanted to 'remove temptation'.

Yet Bottoms said it was hard to ignore that Asian Americans were singled out.  

'This is a man who murdered, eight people in cold blood, so it's very difficult to believe what he says,' said Bottoms. 

'It's difficult to ignore the fact that many of the victims were Asian, all of the victims in Atlanta were Asian, in fact, and that he targeted these Asian massage parlors.'

Bottoms said it is important that people stand in solidarity with the Asian American community at this time. 

'They are being targeted unfairly and in Atlanta, what we've seen the worst has happened,' she said.

She spoke hours after Georgia police were branded racist for saying the gunman was having a 'bad day' when he killed six Asian women, a white woman and a white man.  

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