Prosecutor will reportedly seek death penalty for Atlanta spa shooting suspect

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in March's shooting at three Atlanta-area spas, CNN reports.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed a notice Tuesday indicating she will seek the death penalty and enhanced hate crimes charges for Long, according to the report. Eight people were killed in the shootings, six of whom were women of Asian descent.

In the filing, Willis said that Long allegedly "targeted some of the victims because they were of Asian descent," The New York Times writes. This case will be the "first test" of a Georgia hate crimes law passed last year, under which suspects can face enhanced penalties if victims were targeted for their race, gender, or sexual orientation, CNN notes. The Cherokee County Sheriff's office said in March that Long claimed to investigators "the crimes were not racially motivated."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Long has reportedly been indicted on 19 counts, including four charges of felony murder.