Georgia prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Robert Aaron Long after he killed eight people in three Atlanta-area spas. The shootings have been characterized as hate crimes as six of his victims were Asian women.

The 22-year-old Long originally purchased a firearm and a bottle of bourbon and was contemplating suicide due to his self-proclaimed sex addiction. Instead, he took his frustrations out on three Asian spas.

Long purchased a 9 mm handgun at a firearms store and indoor firing range called Big Woods Goods. Because the state of Georiga does not require a waiting period to obtain a firearm, Long was able to easily acquire the weapon he used in his deadly rampage.

The shootings occurred at spas in Fulton and Cherokee counties. Long already pleaded guilty to the four slayings in Cherokee County and was sentenced to life in prison.

On Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville and Atlanta prosecutors affirmed that District Attorney Fani Willis had filed court papers declaring her intention to seek capital punishment in a case she is designating a hate crime.

“I don’t want our victims to get lost. These are all women who worked and lived in our community. They were mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, and friends,” Willis said.

Since the pandemic began there have been over 9,000 anti-Asian-related hate crimes in the U.S.

Long’s victims include Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54, in the Cherokee County shootings and Yong Ae Yue, 63; Soon Chung Park, 74; Suncha Kim, 69; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51 in the two Atlanta shootings.