Four of the eight people who died in a shooting spree by a 21-year-old gunman in Georgia this week have been identified by police.
Why it matters: The fact that six of the eight victims are Asian women has left Asians and Pacific Islanders across America fearful and alarmed.
Here is what we know about the victims so far:
The four identified victims from the Cherokee County shooting include: Delaina Yaun, 33; Xiaojie Tan, 49; Paul Andre Michels, 52; and Daoyou Feng, 44. The four other victims in the Atlanta area shootings have not yet been identified.
Yaun was reportedly meeting her husband for a couple’s massage when the shooter broke in. Her husband made it out safely, though she did not.
- She was a mother of a 14-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter. Her loved ones believe she was a first-time customer at the spa, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.
Tan, who was originally from China and had one daughter, owned Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, Ga., the New York Times writes.
- She was killed two days before her 50th birthday.
Feng had, per the Times, recently begun working at Tan’s spa.
Michels was a businessman and U.S. Army veteran.
- The 52-year-old was one of nine siblings and had been married for over 20 years.
Of the six Asian women at the spa, four were of Korean descent, per South Korea’s foreign ministry.
- The ministry said Wednesday, “Our government is closely watching the situation, holding a deep interest in the safety of our compatriots overseas.”
Another victim, Elcias Hernandez-Ortiz, suffered a non-fatal shot to the head that traveled into his lungs. He is in intensive care, per CNN.
- Hernandez-Ortiz was a father and husband to his wife, Flora Gonzalez Gomez.
Editor’s note: This story will be updated as additional information about the victims emerges.
