8 dead in Atlanta-area spa shootings, suspect arrested

A string of shootings at three spas in the Atlanta area Tuesday left eight people dead — six of them reported to be Asian women, raising concerns from some public officials that the attacks could be racially motivated.

Police have not yet offered a motive in the shootings, which happened over an hour Tuesday before a suspect was taken into custody that night.

But because of many of the victims’ backgrounds, some officials and organizations have raised fears that ethnicity came into play, amid rising concerns nationwide about anti-Asian violence during the coronavirus pandemic. Six of the eight victims were Asian women, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, citing authorities.

The shootings began at a parlor about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta, followed by two more at parlors in northeastern Atlanta.

South Korea’s foreign ministry, which had been in touch with its consulate in Atlanta, has said that four of the victims were of Korean ethnicity.

Atlanta-area spa shootings: Live updates

A 21-year-old suspect was taken into custody about 150 miles south of Atlanta on Tuesday night, and police say they believe he was likely responsible for the three attacks.

Authorities haven’t publicly identified the victims as they work to notify next of kin.

Earlier, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said the four victims within the city were female and appeared to be Asian.

Though authorities have said they still were investigating the motive, details of how the horror unfolded are becoming clearer.

First shooting reported around 5 p.m.

Around 5 p.m. Tuesday, deputies were called to Young’s Asian Massage between the Georgia cities of Woodstock and Acworth after reports of a shooting, Cherokee County sheriff’s spokesperson Jay Baker said.

Responding deputies found five people with gunshot wounds. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and three were transported to a hospital, where two died, Baker said.

About an hour later and 30 miles away, Atlanta police responded to what was described as a robbery at the Gold Massage Spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta. Police say they found three people dead.

While there, police received another call of shots fired across the street at the Aroma Therapy Spa, where they found one person dead, Bryant said.

Authorities in the area said they are increasing patrols around similar businesses, and FBI spokesperson Kevin Rowson said the agency is assisting with the investigations.

The suspect

Around 8:30 p.m., the highway patrol about 150 miles south of the city was alerted that a suspect in the Cherokee County shooting was heading its way, Sheriff Frank Reynolds said in a video on the Crisp County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page.

After the suspect’s vehicle was spotted, a chase ensued on Interstate 75 and a state trooper performed a maneuver that sent the SUV out of control.

“The suspect was taken into custody without incident … and transported to the Crisp County jail,” the official said.

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office identified him as Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock.

Police believe Long is also responsible for the shootings in Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Department said.

“Video footage … places the Cherokee County suspect’s vehicle in the area, around the time of our Piedmont Road shootings,” Atlanta police said in a news release. “That, along with video evidence viewed by investigators, suggests it is extremely likely our suspect is the same as Cherokee County’s, who is in custody.

“Because of this, an investigator from APD is in Cherokee County and we are working closely with them to confirm with certainty our cases are related.”

A community shaken

President Joe Biden was briefed overnight about the shootings, and White House officials have been in touch with the Atlanta mayor’s office and the FBI, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.

Police have not provided any motive for the shootings.

But in a statement Tuesday, the Stop AAPI Hate organization said the incident shows that more needs to be done to protect Asian Americans.

“The reported shootings of multiple Asian American women today in Atlanta is an unspeakable tragedy — for the families of the victims first and foremost, but also for the Asian American community, which has been reeling from high levels of racist attacks over the course of the past year,” it said. “This latest attack will only exacerbate the fear and pain that the Asian American community continues to endure.”

In Seattle, officials increased outreach to community-based organizations and added an increased presence of police patrols, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan and Chief of Police Adrian Diaz said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in South Korea’s capital to meet with the nation’s foreign minister, mentioned the attacks in opening remarks Wednesday.

Noting the foreign ministry’s report that four victims were of Korean ethnicity, he expressed condolences to the victims’ families and ‘to anyone in the Korean community who is shaken and deeply disturbed by this incident.”

US Rep. Judy Chu of California wrote Wednesday that she was devastated to learn about the shootings, and that the Asian American community “has been facing a relentless increase in attacks and harassment over the past year.”

“As we wait for more details to emerge, I ask everyone to remember that hurtful words and rhetoric have real life consequences. Please stand up, condemn this violence, and help us #StopAsianHate,” she posted on Twitter.

In New York, the NYPD’s Counterterrorism Bureau said on Twitter it will also deploy additional officers to protect Asian communities in the city “out of an abundance of caution.”

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson condemned the shooting “in the strongest possible terms.”