New Mom and Army Veteran Among 8 Killed in US Massage Parlor Shootings

One was a new mother taking an unusual break from caring for her baby. Another was an Army veteran who installed security systems in the Atlanta area.

They were among eight people who died Tuesday (local time) in shootings at three massage parlors in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Police charged a 21-year-old man in the killings.

Seven of the dead were women and six of them were of Asian descent.

Authorities haven’t released all of the victims’ names, but they did identify 33-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun, 54-year-old Paul Andre Michels, 44-year-old Daoyou Feng and 49-year-old Xiaojie Tan, who had one. of the massage businesses.

Here’s a look at some of those who died in the deadliest mass shooting in the US since 2019.

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Delaina Ashley Yaun

It was planned as a day for Yaun to relax.

Yaun and her husband arranged for someone to take care of their 8-month-old daughter as they made their way to the Youngs Asian massage parlor. Family members said the couple were first-time customers, eager for a chance to relax.

They were in separate rooms inside the spa when the gunman opened fire. Yaun was killed. Her husband escaped unscathed.

“They are innocent. They didn’t do anything wrong, ”Yaun’s tearful mother Margaret Rushing told WAGA-TV. “I just don’t understand why he took my daughter.”

Yaun’s husband could hear the gunshots inside the spa, but couldn’t save his wife, said Dana Toole, Yaun’s sister.

“He’s taking it really bad,” Toole said. “When you are in a room and there are shots, what do you do?”

Paul Andre Michels

Michels owned a company that installed security systems, a trade he learned after moving to the Atlanta area more than 25 years ago. He had been talking about switching to a new line of work.

Michels never settled for a career change. He was fatally shot at the Youngs Asian massage parlor, along with three others.

“From what I understand, he was at the spa that day working for them,” said Michels’ younger brother, John Michels of Commerce, Michigan.

Paul Michels could also have been talking to the spa owner about how the business works, his brother said, because he had been thinking about opening a spa himself.

“His age caught up with him. You get to a point where you get tired of going up and down stairs, ”said John Michels. “Actually, he was looking to start his own massage spa. That’s what I was talking about last year. “

Paul Michels grew up in a large family in Detroit where he was the seventh of nine children. His brother John was number 8.

Although they were born two and a half years apart, “he was basically my twin,” said John Michels. They both enlisted in the military after high school, and Paul joined the infantry.

A few years after leaving the military, Paul followed his brother to the Atlanta area in 1995 for a job doing low-voltage electrical work, installing telephones and security systems.

He also met his wife, Bonnie, and they were married for over 20 years.

“He was a good, hard-working man who would do whatever he could to help people,” said John Michels.

“He would lend you money if you needed it sometimes.

“You never left his house hungry.”