KEY POINTS

  • A couple went to a local spa to relax on March 16, but they met with a tragedy
  • The husband, Mario González somehow escaped a shooting spree
  • But he was handcuffed by police suspecting him to be the shooter
  • The man believes he was mistreated because of his race

A man who lost his wife during last week's shooting inside an Atlanta Spa expressed his frustration with law enforcement officials for detaining him without reason, implying he was treated unfairly because he was Latino.

On March 16, Mario González and Delaina Ashley Yaun went to Young's Asian Massage in Georgia. The couple's spa visit was supposed to be a day to relax and enjoy the massage. But what happened there, wasn't expected by anybody. Yaun was one of eight people killed by a gunman, identified as Robert Aaron Long, who targeted employees at the spa.

When González and Yaun were almost done with their respective massages in different spa rooms, gunfire was heard throughout the building. González heard it but he couldn't see what was happening since it was coming from the room where his wife was getting her massage done.

When González was coming out of the spa, the law enforcement officers thought he was the suspect and handcuffed him. Hours later, while González was still handcuffed, officers told him that his wife was shot dead.

Jessica, González’s niece, told that her uncle was handcuffed for about two hours as officials suspected him to be the shooter. She thinks it might be because he's Mexican.

González is furious because of the way the law enforcement officers treated him. He said the officers knew he was Yaun's husband, but they still waited hours before informing him about his wife's death.

González’s niece told the outlet the officers seemed to ignore González's questions. They knew that González's wife was inside, but they still didn't do anything about it.

González and Jessica believe that the officers mistreated the man because of his race since he was handcuffed for something he didn’t do.

A vigil in response to the Atlanta spa shootings in the Chinatown area of Washington
A vigil in response to the Atlanta spa shootings in the Chinatown area of Washington GETTY IMAGES / ALEX WONG