Mundo Hispanico
- Mario González is one of the victims of the Georgia shootings. His wife Delaina Ashley Yaun died.
- González told Mundo Hispanico officers handcuffed him for four hours and treated him like a suspect.
- "Maybe because I'm Mexican, I don't know. Because the truth is, they treated me badly," he said.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
A man who survived last week's Atlanta-area spa shootings, but whose wife died, told Mundo Hispanico that officers handcuffed him for four hours and treated him like a suspect while refusing to tell him what happened to his wife.
Mario González and his wife, 33-year-old Delaina Ashley Yaun, were visiting Young's Asian Massage for a couple's massage when the attack took place.
The couple, who were married last year, were getting massages in separate rooms when gunshots rang out.
González told Mundo Hispanico that as the shooting was going on, he took cover in his locked massage room, hoping his wife would be OK, paralyzed with fear.
"I did not open the door out of fear," González told the outlet.
-Jewel Wicker (@jewelwickershow) March 18, 2021
Law-enforcement officers arrived on the scene shortly after the gunman left, González told Mundo Hispanico, and said he was immediately put into handcuffs.
González said he was kept like this for four hours, while officers ignored his requests to be taken to his wife, or tell him whether she was alive or dead, according to Mundo Hispanico.
Alex Acosta, an employee who works next door to the spa, told DailyMail.com that he came outside after the shooting and recognized González.
"Mario looked at me and he told me his wife was still inside. He told me to tell the police," Acosta said.
When Acosta's wife went and told an officer that González's wife had also been inside and that González wanted to know what happened to her, the officer said they knew, Acosta said.
Yet González had to wait hours to be told what had happened. He told Mundo Hispanico that the police eventually told him his wife had died, but did not let them see her body.
González suggested that his race may have played a role in why officers treated him this way.
"Maybe because I'm Mexican, I don't know. Because the truth is, they treated me badly," he told Mundo Hispanico.
González's niece, Jessica González, was more certain about whether his treatment was related to his race.
"He's very upset and angry about that. He was handcuffed for something he didn't do. I think it was a racial thing. He was the only one left in handcuffs," Jessica González told DailyMail.com.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office has been criticized for its handling of the shooting investigation. Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Jay Baker was replaced after receiving criticism for saying the suspect just had "a really bad day."
It was later revealed that Baker had previously shared a picture of a T-shirt with anti-Asian messaging about the coronavirus outbreak, calling the novel coronavirus an "imported virus from Chy-na."
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on González's remarks.
Yaun leaves behind a 13-year-old son from a previous relationship, and the couple's eight-month-old daughter.
González said he's worried about how he'll provide for his family without his wife.
"What I need most right now is support," González told Mundo Hispanico.
A GoFundMe set up to raise money for Yaun's funeral had raised more than $100,000 as of Monday morning.