Man Who Escaped Spa Shooting Was Handcuffed for 2 Hours As Wife Died Inside

Mario Gonzalez had just narrowly escaped a mass shooting at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, Georgia, before he was immediately placed in handcuffs by police, who ignored his pleas for information regarding his dying wife, Delaina Gonzalez (Yaun), who was still inside, according to Gonzalez’s niece.

“He was in the handcuffs for like two hours because they thought it might be him,” Jessica Gonzalez, 20, told the Daily Mail.

Gonzalez and his wife Delaina had planned on visiting the spa simply to relax for the day and enjoy getting pampered, the slain woman’s mother Margaret Rushing told WGCL.

“She wanted a day just her and her husband, spend a little time together, all she wanted was their massages,” Rushing said.

However, just as they were nearing the end of their sessions in separate rooms of the spa, the massacre began.

“I couldn’t see anything, I only started thinking that it was in the room my wife was in,” Gonzalez told Mundo Hispánico.

When Gonzalez encountered police, rather than offering a bit of sympathy they instead placed him in cuffs on suspicion that he was the shooter. Gonzalez is still bitter about the incident, and the fact that it took hours before he was finally told that his beloved wife was murdered.

“They knew I was her husband,” he said. “Maybe it’s because I’m Mexican, I don’t know, because the real truth is that they treated me poorly,” Gonzalez added, displaying the scars on his wrist left by the tight handcuffs.

His niece described a desperate scene outside of the spa, with officers callously ignoring Gonzalez’s pleas for information. Bystanders who also vouched for Gonzalez’s identity were similarly ignored.

“He kept asking, ‘Where’s my wife? Where’s my wife?’ and nobody would give him an answer,” the niece said. “He didn’t get any answers until a couple hours later.”

The experience has just added to Gonzalez’s sorrows from losing his wife in the killing spree committed by Robert Aaron Long, which many believe was motivated by racism and a misogynist hatred of women. In addition to the six victims of Asian descent, a white man and white woman were also killed. The killer has blamed the mass murder on his issues with “sex addiction,” according to authorities.

“He’s very upset and angry about that (experience with police),” Jessica González said. “He was handcuffed for something he didn’t do. I think it was a racial thing. He was the only one left in handcuffs.”