Suspect in Atlanta spa shooting in Fulton County court

ATLANTA — Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings, will appear in Fulton County Court on Monday.

Long previously pleaded guilty in the Cherokee County case, where a judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Three years later, Long’s case in Fulton County is still being reviewed by the criminal justice system. Six of the eight victims were of Asian descent, sparking national discussion about whether the shooting was a hate crime due to the racial overtones of the case.

In the years since the shooting, the tragic event remains fresh in the minds of members and supporters of the Asian community. Along with several lawmakers, they pledged to make changes.

In 2021, Robert Aaron Long pleaded guilty to his crimes in Cherokee County to avoid the death penalty there. He was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders of Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yaun-Gonzalez and Paul Andre Michels. A fifth person, Elcias Hernández-Ortiz, was shot in the face by the shooter but survived.

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Long still faces prosecution in Fulton County, where he pleaded not guilty in hopes of reaching a plea deal that would take the death penalty off the table. Prosecutor Fani Willis previously said she would pursue the death penalty because the case “warrants the ultimate punishment.” She also discussed possible hate crime charges based on the race and gender of the four people killed in the county.

Three years after the murders, the case is moving slowly after several delays in Fulton County.

Most recently, Presiding Judge Ural Glanville ruled that media outlets could continue to broadcast pretrial proceedings after a motion was filed by Long’s defense attorneys claiming media coverage was “prejudicially affecting the group jurors.”