Tan, 49, was the mother of Jami Webb, a recent graduate from the University of Georgia. She was a licensed massage therapist and the owner of Young’s Asian Massage, along with other businesses in the area, including another spa and a tanning salon, according to state records. She was “the sweetest, most kind-hearted, giving, never-met-a-stranger person,” a friend told Atlanta’s WSB-TV. Just one day away from her 50th birthday when she was killed, according to USA Today, Tan was described by her daughter as thoughtful, devoted to her family, and looking forward to traveling in her retirement.
Hyun Jung Grant was a Korean immigrant who worked at Atlanta’s Gold Spa. Her son Randy Park, 23, shared a tribute to his mother on GoFundMe: He said his mother was a single parent who “dedicated her whole life to providing for my brother and I.” She loved dancing and sushi, according to Park, who told The Daily Beast, “She wasn’t just my mother. She was my friend.” Park, who now has to raise his brother alone, is not buying law-enforcement officials’ suggestion that the attack was motivated by a supposed sex addiction, not racism. “That’s bullshit,” he said.
Yaun Gonzalez, 33, was a mother of two — 13-year-old Mayson and 8-month-old Mia. She had worked all day on Tuesday at the Waffle House a few shops down from Tan’s spa business. She had been looking forward to having a relaxing night out with her husband, Mario Gonzalez, whom she married only last year, and the couple had reportedly never been to Young’s Asian Massage before. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, family members say that Mario Gonzalez, who survived the shooting, is “taking [the situation] hard.” Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez’s friends and family have set up a GoFundMe to address her funeral costs.
Michels, 54, was a handyman at Young’s Asian Massage and the owner of an electric company. He was only recently hired for the role and excited to take it on after looking for more work during the pandemic, according to a friend who spoke with CBS46. An army veteran originally from Detroit, Michels is one of nine siblings and is survived by his wife of more than two decades. In an interview with the Guardian, his brother John Michels emphasized his kindness. “He was just a regular guy, very good-hearted, very soft-natured,” he said, while noting that Michels had expressed an interest in getting involved in the massage business.
A licensed massage therapist, she was laid off at the start of the pandemic last year and was excited to finally start shifts at the spa again, her son Elliott Peterson, 42, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday morning. Yue’s youngest child, Robert Peterson, 38, agreed, recalling their mother as a kind and deeply caring woman. If you stopped by her house, she’d sit you down, ask if you’d eaten, and then insist on a trip to H Mart grocery store so she could make a meal.
Daoyou Feng, 44, began working at Young’s Asian Massage in recent months, according to Tan’s friend Hynson. She was kind and quiet, he said. Her relatives could not be reached for comment.
Soon Chung Park, 74, was also a worker at an Atlanta spa. Her family didn’t respond when reached for comment. Park previously lived in New York, where she has relatives, her son-in-law, Scott Lee, told the New York Times. “She got along with her family so well,” Lee told the newspaper.
Suncha Kim, 69, worked at one of the spas in Atlanta. Her family could not be reached for comment. Kim, a grandmother, was married for more than 50 years, a family member told the Times. She enjoyed line dancing and worked hard, the relative said.
Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, was the only survivor of the victims who were shot on Tuesday, and he remains hospitalized for multiple gunshot wounds in his “forehead, throat, lungs and stomach,” according to the Washington Post. He was shot while standing outside in the shopping center where Young’s Asian Massage is located. “He came from nothing and has come a long way; that is why I have faith he will survive this,” his wife Flor Gonzalez told the Washington Post. Gonzalez has also set up a GoFundMe to help with the costs of Hernandez-Ortiz’s medical care.
This is my town. A friend of mine worked at this Tops stocking shelves for years. He used to live in this neighborhood, he only recently moved. Another one of my best friends lives just two blocks from Jefferson.
Is there anything to say? I don’t know what else to say. Buffalo is the City of Good Neighbors. No matter where you are, you can find a jump for your car, someone to help you carry your groceries, an extra set of hands to shovel your driveway. We’re not perfect, but we are kind. This is such a violation.
I’ll be keeping an eye out for links and reputable sources to help the families of the victims, and to help support the Buffalo black community. I’ll post them here.
I think something a lot of people are failing to realise here is that not only is it horrible that they entered and shot Amir Locke within nine seconds, and not only should no knock warrants be thrown out, but this specific no-knock warrant was executed illegally, which should be immediately resulting in extra charges on top of murder, and should make the murder charge even more easy to be placed upon them.
No-knock warrants in Minneapolis can only be executed between 7 am and 8 pm. Now they are coming out and releasing the official warrant, claiming that it was actually a night-search warrant. This is a lie. In earlier documents and press conferences it is referred to as a no-knock warrant. No-knock warrants and night-search warrants are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS. If it’s your job to know the difference and the importance of the difference, then it’s pretty fuckin hard to get that shit wrong.
So now that they realise that covering it up is only going to make it worse for them, they’re trying to change the narrative.
A list of lies:
- Amir pointed a gun at the cops.
- The officers announced themselves 3 times before entering the unit.
- The officers did what they had to do for their safety in a high-pressure situation.
- No-knock warrants are the safest option for not only the officers, but the suspect too, as well as the other residents in the building.
- This was actually a Night-search warrant.
- A no-knock warrant was deemed necessary.
The truth:
1. Amir had his hand away from the trigger, holding it a specific way that his dad taught him to so that he could show himself as not a threat.
2. No they did not announce themselves. In fact, I have never seen people open a door in such a quiet, sneaky way in my life.
3. no. They did not do “what they had to do”. God stfu.
4. No-knock warrants are NEVER SAFE. And this specific no-knock warrant was ILLEGAL. also since this took place so early in the morning, most people would be sleeping and at home, and bullets can go through walls. So it was definitely not the safest option for anyone involved.
5. Was not a night-search warrant.
As you can see by them referencing to it as a no-knock warrant in official papers.
6. Actually, when the officers first asked for the warrant, they were denied it becuase it was deemed too excessive. What did these killers do? Drove to a different district to get the warrant from another judge.
They were told it was excessive and they still insisted on it.
