The suspect on the recent spa shooting in Georgia was nabbed Tuesday evening, police said.
21-year-old Robert Aaron Long from Woodstock, who allegedly opened fire at three massage parlors, was arrested after authorities tracked down his car in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta.
Authorities believe he first opened fire on five people in Young’s Asian Massage in Cherokee County shortly before 5 pm.
He then allegedly drove to Atlanta and opened fire in Gold Massage Spa, leaving three women dead.
“The suspect has been interviewed, which indicated he has some issues, potentially sexual addiction. He may have frequented some of these places in the past,” said Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds.
According to the authorities, the God-fearing suspect apparently wanted to “eliminate the temptation” by taking out massage parlors that provided an outlet for his addiction in the past.
“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,” said Cherokee County Captain Jay Baker.
“He was at the end of his rope and yesterday was a very bad day for him.”
Long allegedly killed a total of eight people at three parlors – one in Acworth and two in Atlanta – on Tuesday; six of his victims were of Asian descent while two are Caucasian.
Armed with his newly purchased 9mm, Long was planning to drive south on Interstate 75 bound to Florida and attack more locations that were connected to pornography along the way.
He was taken into custody “without incident” and is currently being held at Crisp County jail
Four of the eight victims were identified as Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Yan, 49; and Daoyou Feng, 44.