Atlanta shooting victim’s husband says he was handcuffed for four hours by police

The husband of one of the victims in the Atlanta-area massage business shootings said that he was handcuffed for four hours by police following last Thursday’s attack in an interview published Monday.

Mario Gonzalez told Spanish-language news website Mundo Hispanico that he was detained in a patrol car outside of Young’s Asian Massage after the shootings last week that he later learned killed his wife Delaina Ashley Yaun and three others. 

“They had me in the patrol car the whole time they were investigating who was responsible, who exactly did this,” Gonzalez told the news outlet, according to a translation from The Associated Press. 

“I don’t know whether it’s because of the law or because I’m Mexican,” he added. “The simple truth is that they treated me badly.”

Gonzalez said he and his wife went to Young’s Asian Massage after getting a babysitter for their infant and ended up in separate rooms when the gunman attacked about 5 p.m. 

“Only when they finally confirmed I was her husband, did they tell me that she was dead,” he said. “I wanted to know earlier.”

His account of events would mean he was in handcuffs after authorities released images of the suspect in the parking lot about 6:30 p.m. and after Robert Long, 21, was taken into custody, the AP noted. 

Long is accused of shooting and killing eight people, including Yaun, at three spas in and around Atlanta, with most of the victims being women and of Asian descent. 

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment on Gonzalez’s claims.

The sheriff’s office previously received scrutiny last week after spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said the gunman had “a really bad day” and “this is what he did.”

The office removed Baker as a spokesman for the shooting after his remarks and Sheriff Frank Reynolds issued a statement saying he was sorry for any “heartache” caused by Baker’s comments.