Robert Aaron Long, 21, is in custody over the shootings in Cherokee County, Georgia and the other two in Atlanta.
Long claimed responsibility for the shooting in Cherokee County, where he faces four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault, according to the county sheriff’s office. He was also charged with four more murder charges, the Atlanta Police Department said.
The suspect told police he believed he had an addiction to sex and that he saw the spas as “a temptation … that he wanted to eliminate,” said Captain Jay Baker, Cherokee County Sheriff.
But Atlanta police chief Rodney Bryant said it was too early to know why, and Cherokee County District Attorney Shannon Wallace said the investigation was ongoing and the appropriate charges would be brought.
When asked if Long could face charges of hate crimes, Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds said that everything is still under investigation and that they will allow the evidence to lead them to a logical conclusion.
Although FBI director Christopher Wray said the attacks did not appear to be racially motivated, advocacy groups argued that it was too early to make that determination. And the shootings do not have to be racially motivated to constitute a hate crime in Georgia.
If Long was targeting women out of hate for them or using them as a scapegoat for their own problems, this could potentially be a hate crime.
Communities and the nation struggle with fear and pain
Flores covered businesses that were the scene of devastating violence, but as the growing hatred affects Asians and Asian Americans, the emotional impact was felt across the country.
“These cruel and unscrupulous acts of violence affect the core of our country and the values on which it was founded,” said former Transport Secretary Elaine Chao on Thursday. “While we await the results of a thorough investigation, the critical work to combat the frightening increase in hatred against the AAPI community must intensify with the immediacy that this latest tragedy commands.”
During a vigil outside Young’s Asian Spa on Thursday, Sheriff Reynolds told reporters that he attended the candlelight vigil to inform the Asian American community that “we have them in our hearts and in our prayers and we are sorry a lot of loss of life. ”
A vigil was also held outside the Gold Spa in Atlanta.
President Joe Biden ordered the flags to be flown at half the mast on Thursday to honor the victims. Biden also plans to visit Atlanta on Friday to meet with Mayor Bottoms, as well as Asian American and Pacific Islander leaders, according to Georgia state representative Bee Nguyen.
Among the issues they will raise is the concern that the shootings are “taken seriously” and taken seriously as a hate crime against Asians and not be judged as the suspect having a “bad day”, said Nguyen.
“Our hearts are with the loved ones of those we have lost and our nation is weeping with you,” he said.
What we know about the victims
Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, from Acworth; Paul Andre Michels, 54, from Atlanta; Xiaojie Tan, 49, from Kennesaw; and Daoyou Feng, 44, were all shot dead at Youngs Asian Massage in Cherokee County.
Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, from Acworth, was also shot at the spa, but survived.
Three more victims were found dead at the Gold Massage Spa in Atlanta, and another victim was found dead across the street at the Aroma Therapy Spa.
The names of the four victims have not yet been released by the authorities.
Three of the victims were 52, 75 and 64 years old, according to the years of birth listed in an Atlanta police incident report.
“We need to make sure that we have a genuine verification of their identities and that we give appropriate notification to close relatives,” Atlanta Deputy Chief of Police Charles Hampton Jr. said on Wednesday.
How the attacks unfolded
Just before 5 pm Tuesday, MPs were called to Youngs Asian Massage, located between the cities of Woodstock and Acworth, Georgia, after reports of a shooting, Cherokee county sheriff officials said.
The shooting left four dead and one injured, Captain Baker said.
About an hour later and 30 miles away, the Atlanta police responded to the Gold Massage Spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta. Police said they found three people dead.
While there, police received another call for shots fired across the street at the Aroma Therapy Spa, where they found a dead person, Bryant said.
Investigators found a surveillance video of a suspect near the Cherokee County scene and posted images on social media.
“(Family members) are very upset and have been very helpful in this apprehension,” said Reynolds.
CNN’s Holly Yan, Amir Vera, Gisela Crespo, Amanda Watts, Stephen Collinson, Audrey Ash, Casey Tolan, Nicquel Ellis, Nicole Chavez, Artemis Moshtaghian, Raja Razek, Jamiel Lynch and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.