The man who survived the Atlanta spa shootings said he was detained by Cherokee County Sheriff’s officers for hours while his wife was dying from her injuries.
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Mario Gonzalez said he was placed in handcuffs after officers assumed he was involved in the shooting at Young’s Asain Massage on Tuesday. As he was detained by officers, he says they didn’t believe him that he was the husband of Delaina Ashley Yaun because she was white and saw him exiting out of the spa in the aftermath of the shooting. The couple was receiving massages in separate rooms when the shooting occurred. He was in police custody for hours and didn’t learn the news of his wife’s death until his release.
“I want to know if she is alive or dead … they ignored me. They had me on patrol the entire time until they investigated. Until the last [minute] they give me the news that my wife had passed away,”
According to NewsOne, Yuan’s mother Margaret Rushing said the couple were on a night out and wanted to treat each other with a message. They also had a baby recently and Gonzalez says he doesn’t know what he’ll do without his wife.
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The department has been under fire for not addressing the racial undertones surrounding the shooting and one of the officers posted a t-shirt spreading antI-Asian propaganda referencing the COVID-19 pandemic.