Eight people were killed in Atlanta, Georgia after a gunman barged into three spas and opened fire on the victims. Of the eight victims, six of them were Asian women.
The suspect identified as Robert Aaron Long, 21, has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault and is said to have a sex addiction, reported BBC.
However, the police cannot confirm if the attack was racially motivated.
In a news conference, investigators said that Robert admitted to the crime, but denied that the attack was motivated by race. They added that it is still too early in the investigation to definitively state a motive.
Robert was caught with a 9mm handgun and did not resist arrest. He told investigators he had a “sex addiction” and viewed the spas as a temptation he wanted to eliminate, officials said.
Massage parlours are known to sometimes provide prostitution services, but authorities say there is no indication yet that this is the case at the targeted locations.
“These are legally operating businesses that have not been on our radar,” said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
She added that the city would not engage in “victim shaming, victim-blaming”.
She also said that Robert was arrested when he was on his way to Florida, possibly to commit more shootings.
What happened
Three shootings took place at three different massage parlours.
The first shooting happened at about 9pm (GMT) on 16 March at Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, Cherokee County.
Two people died at the scene and three others were taken to the hospital where two more died. The victims were identified as two Asian women, a white woman and a white man. The wounded victim was a Hispanic man.
The second shooting took place at Gold Spa in north-east Atlanta less than an hour later, when the police were called to a “robbery in progress”. A woman had called the police while she was hiding from the suspect.
“Do you have a description of the male?” the operator asks.
“We’re hiding right now,” the woman replies. “They have a gun. Please come, ok?”
Upon arrival at the spa, police found three females dead inside the shop from apparent gunshot wounds.
While the police were dealing with the situation at the second location, the third shooting took place across the street at a shop called Aromatherapy Spa, where one woman was found shot dead.
Meanwhile, authorities in South Korea said they were working to confirm the nationalities of the four women of Korean descent.
Also read: “Maybe because I’m Asian?” 56yo M’sian Living In America Attacked By Random Stranger
