At least eight people have died, four of them of Asian descent, after shootings at three massage parlors near Atlanta, police said on Tuesday.
What happened: Three people were fatally shot at one spa in northeast Atlanta, and a fourth person was killed at a different spa across the street, according to Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant.
UPDATE: Atlanta police tell us a total of four Asian women were shot and killed. 3 at Gold Spa, one at Aromatherapy spa. Looking into whether or not this is tied to a similar incident in Cherokee county @FOX5Atlanta pic.twitter.com/CxzvNpPM6Q
— Janice Yu (@JaniceYuNews) March 16, 2021
- Bryant said all four victims were women, and “It appears that they may be Asian,” according to AP.
- Police responded to a robbery in progress at the Gold Spa at around 5:50 p.m., where three women were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
- They found a woman who appeared to have been fatally shot inside the Aroma Therapy Spa across the street following reports of shots fired.
- Five people were shot earlier at around 5 p.m. at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said.
- Two victims died and three were rushed to a local hospital where two also died, according to police.
The suspect: The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock.
- Long was taken into custody in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, around 8:30 p.m. after a car chase, WSB-TV reported.
- Surveillance footage shows a man suspected in the Acworth shooting pulling up to the business at 4:50 p.m. on Tuesday.
- Officials in each jurisdiction said there were no immediate indications of motive and it’s unclear whether the shootings were related, CNN reported.
Feature Image via Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
