Atlanta: At least eight people, six of them women of Asian descent, were killed and one injured in shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area, police said.
One suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the shootings on Tuesday. Cherokee County Sheriff’s said that Robert Aaron Long (21) was arrested at about 8:30 p.m. following a chase that led officers into Crisp County — about three hours away from where the first shootings at a massage parlour, WSB TV reported.
Two of the shootings were at spas across the street from each other in northeast Atlanta and the other happened about 30 miles away in Cherokee County to the northwest of the city.
Officials in each jurisdiction said there were no immediate indications of motive and said it is unclear whether the shootings were related.
“The reported shootings of Asian American women on Tuesday in Atlanta is an unspeakable tragedy – for the families of the victims first and foremost, but also for the AAPI community – which has been reeling from high levels of racial discrimination,” Stop AAPI Hate tweeted Tuesday night.
