6 Asian women among 8 shot dead; suspect arrested: What happened in Georgia?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is assisting the Atlanta and Cherokee county authorities in the investigation of the shootings, according to agency's spokesman Kevin Rowson. So far, the authorities have not offered any possible motive for the shootings.

Shootings at two massage parlours in Atlanta, Georgia and one in Acworth on Tuesday evening left eight people dead and one wounded. The victims in the Georgia spa shootings included at least six Asian women, police said, as reported by news agency Reuters. A 21-year-old man, Robert Aarong Lung, has been taken into custody in connection with the shootings. Authorities are also investigating whether there was any connection between the three shootings, CNN reported.

Crime scene tape surrounds Gold Spa after deadly shootings at a massage parlor and two day spas in the Atlanta area, in Atlanta, Georgia, US. (Reuters)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is assisting the Atlanta and Cherokee county authorities in the investigation of the shootings, according to agency's spokesman Kevin Rowson. So far, the authorities have not offered any possible motive for the shootings.

A body is taken away from Gold Spa massage parlor after a shooting, late Tuesday, (AP)

The shootings

Around 5pm, five people were shot at Young's Asian massage parlour which is located near a rural area in Acworth. In the shooting, two people died on the scene and three were taken to a nearby hospital where two of them also died later, as per Reuters.

Around 5:50pm, police received a call of a robbery in progress at the Gold Massage spa on Piedmont road in Atlanta. Upon returning the call, the police found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds at Gold Spa. While the police were at the scene, they received another call reporting fires shot at Aroma Therapy spa, which was just across the street, where the police found one person dead.

Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock in Cherokee County poses in a jail booking photograph after he was taken into custody by the Crisp County Sheriff's Office in Cordele, Georgia, US. (Reuters)

The suspect

Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in the Cherokee county shootings was taken into custody around 8:30pm, three and a half hours after the shootings, and transported to Crisp county jail. He was arrested in a highway pursuit by Georgia state police and Crisp county sheriff’s deputies, after the police in Cherokee county issued a bulletin providing a description of Long and license plates of the getaway vehicle. A tactical driving maneuver was used by the police to bring the Long’s vehicle to a halt, sheriff's officials said later. According to news agency Reuters, the investigators were "very confident" that Long was involved in all three shootings.

(with agency inputs)