These are some of the victims of the Atlanta-area shootings
The victims of the Cherokee County shooting were identified as Delaina Yaun, 33, of Acworth; Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta; Xiaojie Yan, 49, of Kennesaw; and Daoyou Feng, 44. The Atlanta victims have not yet been identified.
When his family called, doctors told them he was very lucky to have survived, Yoseline said. “He is a really good dad,” she said. “I don’t want him to go.”
Her husband, two children, mother and siblings are all heartbroken and “there’s nothing anyone could do to help with the pain,” the GoFundMe page said.
Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz.
On Wednesday, South Korea’s foreign ministry has said four were of Korean ethnicity and Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed condolences.
“Our government is closely watching the situation, holding a deep interest in the safety of our compatriots overseas,” Chung said at a press conference. “We express our deep condolences to the American citizens too.”
Activist groups, community members and officials said the attacks heightened existing fear among Asians in the US in the wake of increasing incidents of hate resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“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,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told CNN on Wednesday.
“Regardless of the motivation, given the concerns the community already has in light of all the attacks that we’ve seen — particularly against Asian American women and the elderly — I think this is a reminder that we need to do everything that we possibly can to protect the most vulnerable among us,” Georgia state Rep. Sam Park told CNN.
The organizations Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, Asian American Advocacy Fund, 9to5 and Korean American Coalition Metro Atlanta said they are gathering resources and funds for those impacted and the families of the Asian victims.
Jessica Lang pauses and places her hand on the door in a moment of grief after dropping off flowers with her daughter Summer at Youngs Asian Massage parlor where four people were killed.
Flowers lined all three Atlanta locations Wednesday as the murdered victims were remembered. Jessica Lang took a moment to place her hand on the door of Youngs in Acworth after dropping off flowers with her daughter.
Drawings and photographs of parents and children hinted at the grief the families as they mourn parents, siblings, spouses and children.
Delaina Ashley Yaun.
Deputies found four people shot there shortly before 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Two of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene and two died at a hospital.
About an hour later and 30 miles away, Atlanta police responded to what was described as a robbery at the Gold Massage Spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta. Police said they found three people dead.
While there, police received another call of shots fired across the street at the Aroma Therapy Spa, where they found one person dead, Bryant said.
The authorities, seeking to contact next of kin, have not identified the other victims.
Long was arrested 150 miles south of the city, and Bottoms said he was headed to Florida “perhaps to carry out additional shootings.”
“It’s very likely there would have been more victims,” Bottoms said in a news conference at Atlanta police headquarters.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the first name of Delaina Yaun in a photo caption.
