Atlanta Suspect Tells Investigators He Went on Shooting Spree to Eliminate Temptation

The man accused of killing eight people in Atlanta area massage parlors used faith language to explain what motivated him to carry out the murder spree.

Investigators say 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long told them he took responsibility for Wednesday's shooting rampage which targeted one massage parlor north of Atlanta and two near the Buckhead area. 

The shootings left seven women and one man dead. Six of the victims were Asian.

Capt. Jay Baker with the Cherokee County sheriff's office said Long told investigators that the crime was not racially motivated. 

Instead, he explained it as a response to his problem with porn and other sexual issues.

"He apparently has an issue--what he considers sex addiction and sees these locations as something that allows him to go to these places and it's a temptation that he wanted to eliminate," said Baker.

Authorities believe that Long acted alone and that he was headed to Florida where he intended to shoot more people.

The Daily Beast reports that Long grew up attending Crabapple First Baptist Church in Milton, Georgia, and was baptized in 2018.

Church elders released a statement to CBN News, saying they are grieved by the shooting deaths, praying for the victims' families, and also praying for the Long family.

Prominent evangelical abuse advocate Rachael Denhollander called on Southern Baptist leaders Wednesday to think carefully about how they teach biblical sexuality. 

"How you teach gender roles, and how you talk about women, how you sexualize them as temptations or danger, matters," she said. "It can be life or death."

CBN News reached out to the Southern Baptist Convention for comment on the shootings but has not received a response.

The FBI is working with Atlanta Police, the Cherokee county sheriff's office and the Georgia State Patrol to investigate the murders. Authorities emphasized Wednesday that they have not ruled out the possibility of considering the shootings as hate crimes.

Attacks against Asian Americans have risen sharply since the pandemic began.

“Our entire family is praying for the victims of these horrific acts of violence,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday evening on Twitter.

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