At least 8 killed in shootings at 3 Atlanta-area spas, suspect in custody

At least eight people were killed Tuesday in shootings at three Atlanta-area spas. A suspect was taken into custody in connection with one of the shootings, and Atlanta police said it was “extremely likely” that he was also the suspect in the other two shootings.

At around 5 p.m., a shooting at Young’s Asian Massage in Cherokee County killed four people, two of whom died after being taken to hospital, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office. A fifth victim was injured and also taken to hospital.

Three people were later shot dead at Gold Spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta. As officers responded to the scene, they received another call for a shootout across the street at Aromatherapy Spa, where they found another person who had been shot.

Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said the four victims of the Piedmont Road shooting were female and “appear to be Asian.”

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry confirmed to CBS News that at least four of the eight victims were of Korean descent.

Cherokee County Police have identified Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock, as a suspect in the Young’s Asian Massage shooting. Long was taken into custody Tuesday night in Crisp County, Ga.

He was taken into custody without incident around 8:30 p.m. after Georgia State Patrol soldiers carried out a PIT maneuver “which caused loss of control of the vehicle,” according to the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office .

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, Atlanta Police said, “Video footage from our Video Integration Center places the Cherokee County suspect’s vehicle in the area, around the time of our Piedmont Road shooting. This, along with the video evidence seen by investigators, suggests it is highly likely that our suspect is the same as the one from Cherokee County, who is in custody. “

The FBI is participating in the investigation.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki released a statement saying, “The president was briefed overnight about the terrible shootings in Atlanta. White House officials have been in contact with the mayor’s office and will stay in touch with the FBI. “

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is in Tokyo, offered his condolences, telling reporters: “We are horrified by this violence, which has no place in America or anywhere for that matter.… We will stand up for it. right of our fellow Americans, Korean Americans, to be safe, to be treated with dignity. “

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Twitter thanked the police for “the rapid arrest of a suspect” and said: “Our whole family is praying for the victims of these horrific acts of violence”.

Senator Raphael Warnock tweeted, “My heart is broken tonight after the tragic violence in Atlanta that left eight people dead. Once again we see that hatred is deadly. Pray for the families of the victims and for peace for the community.”

The New York Police Department said “out of caution,” the NYPD Critical Response Command was deployed to Asian communities in New York City in response to Tuesday’s shootings.

“The shootings reported today against several Asian American women in Atlanta are an indescribable tragedy – for the families of the victims above all, but also for the Asian-American community, which has been rocked by high levels of violence. racist attacks during the war. Last year, “Stop AAPI Hate, an organization that seeks to raise awareness of anti-Asian discrimination throughout the pandemic, said Tuesday evening in a statement.

The organization noted that it was still not clear whether the shootings were “motivated by hate,” but added: “This latest attack will only exacerbate the fear and pain as the Asian-American community continues. to undergo. “

CBS News Senior Investigator Unit Pat Milton contributed to this report.