One suspect is in custody after eight people were killed and one person was injured in three different incidents with shootings at different massage parlors in the Atlanta metropolitan area on Tuesday night.
Of importance: Georgia law enforcement officials said all but one of the victims were women and six were of Asian descent – raising concerns that the attacks were racially motivated, according to the New York Times. Officials in Seoul said four of the victims were descendants of South Koreans.
What we know: The Cherokee County sheriff’s office said Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old white man from Woodstock, Georgia, was arrested Tuesday night and charged with murder. The FBI is assisting Atlanta and Cherokee county officials in the investigation.
- The attacks began at about 5 pm at the Youngs Asian Massage Parlor, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, said the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. Two people died at the scene and three were taken to the hospital, where two of them died.
- About 50 minutes later, police responding to reports of a robbery found three people killed at Gold Spa in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta.
- While there, they received reports of gunshots fired at the Aromatherapy Spa across the street. When they arrived, they found the body of a woman with gunshot wounds.
- The Atlanta Police Department said in a statement that the video footage indicates “it is extremely likely” that the same person was responsible for all three shots.
For registration: After the Atlanta shooting, the police in New York and Seattle announced that they are increasing the police presence in Asian American communities.
- Stop AAPI Hate reporting center said in a statement although it was not immediately clear whether the shootings in Georgia were motivated by hatred, there is “a lot of fear and pain in the Asian American community … that has recovered from high levels of racial discrimination”.
- The group published a report on Tuesday showing that racism-fueled violence against Asian Americans continued to increase, with women twice as likely to be targeted as men.
What they are saying: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) Tweeted, “My heart is broken tonight after the tragic violence in Atlanta that took eight lives. Once again, we see that hatred is deadly. Praying for the victims’ families and for peace for the community.”
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Editor’s note: This is breaking news. Please check again for updates.