A man who survived one of the three shootings in Atlanta last week that left his wife and seven others dead says police detained him for four hours after the attack.
According to a report by ABC News, Mario Gonzalez says officers held him in handcuffs in a police vehicle outside of the spa where his wife, Delaina Ashley Yaun was killed.
Gonzalez reportedly shared this information with Mundo Hispanico, a Spanish-language news site and comes following backlash of Cherokee County law enforcement officials investigating the tragic attacks.
Based on officials’ account of their handling of finding and capturing the shooting suspect, 21-year-old Robert Long, Gonzalez would’ve been in handcuffs after they released surveillance footage of Long and even after they caught the suspected gunman on a highway 150 miles south of Atlanta.
Gonzalez reportedly wondered if his treatment was a result of him being Mexican.
“They had me in the patrol car the whole time they were investigating who was responsible, who exactly did this,” Gonzalez told Mundo Hispanico. “I don’t know whether it’s because of the law or because I’m Mexican. The simple truth is that they treated me badly,” he said.
Gonzalez said he learned of his wife’s death after authorities confirmed he was her husband.
“Only when they confirmed I was her husband, did they tell me she was dead,” he said. “I wanted to know earlier.”
Long was arrested on March 16 after reportedly shooting three Atlanta-area spas in an attack advocates say targeted Asian Americans. Six of the eight victims were Asian American women.
According to ABC News, Gonzalez and his wife went to the spa to relax and had gotten a babysitter for their infant daughter. At the time of the shooting, they were reportedly in separate rooms.
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