Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms released a statement after the massage parlor attacks that left eight people dead, saying on Wednesday that “a crime against any community is a crime against all of us”.
At least six people of Asian American descent were among the dead. Police did not say whether the race influenced the shootings.
ATLANTA MASSAGE PARLOR SHOOTINGS: BIDEN INSTRUCTED ON MORTAL ATTACK AS EMERGING DETAILS
In his statement on Wednesday morning, Bottoms praised the police “for their quick work in arresting” the 21-year-old suspect, Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Georgia. She noted that the reason has not yet been determined.
“I have been in close contact with the White House and [Atlanta Police Department (APD)] while working with federal, state and local partners to investigate the suspect who is responsible for this senseless violence in our city, “she said.” My prayers are with the families and friends of the victims whose lives were interrupted by these shootings. “
President Biden and United States Attorney General Merrick Garland have been fully informed of the attacks, White House officials confirmed.
Long was arrested just hours after the shooting in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, according to authorities.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office captain Jay Baker told reporters that investigators still do not know Long’s relationship with any of the victims.
“We don’t know if this is a random act,” he said.
The attacks began on Tuesday night, when five people were shot at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, Baker said. Two people died at the scene and three were taken to a hospital where two died, he said.
WSB-TV reported that another person, a man, was injured in the shooting, but is expected to survive.
About an hour later, police responding to a robbery call found three women killed by apparent gunshot wounds at Gold Spa in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood. While there, police heard of a call reporting shots fired at another spa across the street, the Aromatherapy Spa, and found a woman who appeared to have been shot to death.
The surveillance video recorded a man parking at the Acworth store about 10 minutes before the attack, officials said, and the same car was spotted outside Atlanta companies. A manhunt was launched and Long was finally captured.
Authorities are expected to release more details during a press conference at 10:30 am on Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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