US: At least 8 killed in Georgia spa shootings

WASHINGTON – At least eight people were killed Tuesday in a series of shootings at massage parlors in the US state of Georgia, according to multiple reports.

Four people were fatally shot at two spas in northeast Atlanta and four people were killed at a Cherokee County spa, WSB-TV reported.

Four of the victims appear to be Asian women.

According to CNN, a suspect in the Cherokee County shootings was taken into custody in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, identified as Robert Aaron Long, 21, by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

Citing Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant, CNN said the police responded to a robbery call at the Gold Massage Spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta and found three people dead.

While at the scene, they got another call of shots fired across the street at the Aromatherapy Spa, where they found one person dead.

Around an hour earlier, four people were shot and killed and at least one person was injured at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, Georgia in Cherokee County.

Law enforcement officials are investigating whether the shootings are connected.