Police said the suspect, Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, Georgia, told authorities that his actions were not racially motivated and that he frequented some of the spas where the shootings took place. Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said Long viewed the spas as "a temptation that he wanted to eliminate."
Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said it was too soon in the investigation to say whether the shootings were a hate crime. "We are just not there as of yet," Bryant said during a Wednesday morning news conference.
The killings came amid a recent
wave of attacks against Asian Americans that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the United States.
Here's what we know:
Where did the shootings happen?
The first incident happened at Young's Asian Massage Parlor in a strip mall off Highway 92 near a rural area in Acworth, about 30 miles north of Atlanta.
Police received a call around 5 p.m. about the shooting and found five people shot. Two were dead, and three were rushed to a nearby hospital, where two others died. The fifth person was injured but in stable condition Wednesday, Baker said.
Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds said his office immediately released surveillance photos of the suspect and that Long's family contacted the office believing their son was involved.
An hour later, two other shootings occurred across the street from each other in Atlanta on Piedmont Road, at the Gold Spa and the Aromatherapy Spa.
Atlanta police said in a statement that video footage placed the vehicle of the suspect in the Cherokee County shooting in the same area as the shootings in northeast Atlanta.
Authorities contacted the Crisp County Sheriff's Office, anticipating where the suspect might be headed. Sheriff's officials there along with the George State Patrol stopped Long around 8 p.m.
Who were the victims?...
Continued at link
Atlanta shooting: 8 dead, most victims Asian; Robert Long in custody
About 10 minutes after the
first call was placed, a
second one that lasted just over four minutes was made from a woman related to an incident at the Aromatherapy Spa.
Atlanta massage parlors shooting suspect charged with murder; 911 audio released