UPDATED 2:22 p.m. ET: A spokesperson for the Cherokee Sheriff’s Department in Georgia has confirmed to Complex that 21-year-old suspect Robert Aaron Long of Woodstock is charged with four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. He has no bond.
See original story below.
Georgia authorities are investigating multiple deadly shootings that occurred Tuesday at Atlanta-area spas.
According to CNN, the shootings took place shortly before 6 p.m. local time at the Gold Massage Spa and the Aroma Therapy spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta. Authorities say four people were killed at those establishments, which are across the street from one another, while at least two others were left injured. Atlanta police Chief Rodney Bryant said the four victims were all women who appeared to be Asian, as reported by WOSC.
Another shooting took place about an hour earlier at the Young’s Asian Massage parlor near the Atlanta suburb of Acworth. Responding police discovered two victims shot dead at the scene, and three others injured with gunshot wounds. Those three victims were immediately transferred to the hospital, where two of them ultimately died.
Officials have since arrested 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long of Woodstock, Georgia, in connection to the Acworth shooting. Police have yet to share details about the suspect’s motive. Authorities reportedly managed to track Long through surveillance footage.
“It does not appear that robbery or theft was a motive, but that’s one of the things we’re looking into,” Cherokee County Sheriff’s Capt. Jay Baker said. “We don’t know what his motive was when he arrived or what motivated him to do something like this.”
Investigators are now trying to determine if the shootings were connected. Stay tuned as more information becomes available.
On Wednesday, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms held a press conference, where she said Long was “on his way to Florida...perhaps to carry out additional shootings,” adding that yesterday’s horrific events “could have been significantly worse.”
