A year later, Atlanta spa shooting victims’ families grieve and heal
- Eight people, six of them of Asian, were killed by a gunman, galvanising a movement to fight violence against people of Asian descent in the US
- Whether it is living in their late mother’s home or speaking out about gun control, those left behind are finding their own ways to mourn their loved ones
Robert Peterson misses spending Sundays with his mother, cooking and running errands. Dana Toole plays a video of her sister over and over just to hear her voice. Michael Webb has started speaking out about gun control since his ex-wife’s fatal shooting.
A year after a gunman killed eight people at three Georgia massage businesses, their family members and friends are struggling with grief and trying to heal while dealing with the intense public attention focused on the horrific slayings.
“Our whole world just changed. It blew up in that moment,” said Peterson, whose mother, Yong Ae Yue, was among the dead. “It was a bit overwhelming. We didn’t ask to be here. It was weird to have people so interested.”
Robert Aaron Long, 22, shot and killed four people – Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54 – and seriously injured a fifth person at Youngs Asian Massage in Cherokee County on March 16, 2021.
Authorities say he then drove about 30 miles (48km) south to Atlanta, where he killed three women – Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51 – at Gold Spa, crossed the street and killed Yue, 63, at Aromatherapy Spa.