8 Killed In 3 Massage Parlor Shootings, 1 Arrested: Police

ATLANTA, GA — Police have arrested a suspect linked to three shootings that killed eight people at massage parlors in Acworth and Atlanta, authorities said Tuesday night.

Cherokee County Sheriff's Capt. Jay Baker said authorities in Crisp County, Georgia, more than 180 miles south of Acworth, arrested 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long after disabling his vehicle.

Charges are pending against Long, of Woodstock, in connection with the shooting at Young's Asian Massage in Acworth, and at the Aroma Therapy Spa and the Gold Spa in Atlanta, authorities said.

Atlanta Police and Cherokee County Sheriff's investigators remained in contact following the shootings and both Baker and Atlanta Police Sgt. John Chafee confirmed that Long is a suspect in all three shootings.

“Video footage from our Video Integration Center places the Cherokee County suspect's vehicle in the area, around the time of our Piedmont Road shootings,” Chafee said. “That, along with video evidence viewed by investigators, suggests it is extremely likely our suspect is the same as Cherokee County's, who is in custody. Because of this, an investigator from APD is in Cherokee County and we are working closely with them to confirm with certainty our cases are related.”

Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said three people were killed at one massage parlor at 1916 Piedmont Road near Buckhead, while a fourth person was killed at the spa across the street at 1907 Piedmont Road. He said all four victims were women, and “It appears that they may be Asian,” the Associated Press reported.

But he stopped short of answering questions during a news conference about whether the incidents were being considered racially motivated, saying the investigation “was still early.”

Chafee said officers did check other massage parlors, however.

“Having these two shootings occur at massage parlors and with knowledge of Cherokee County's shootings, Zone 2 commanders quickly dispatched officers to check nearby similar businesses and patrols have been increased in those areas,” he said.

Atlanta police officers were called to a robbery in progress at Gold Massage Spa in Northeast Atlanta, at 5:47 p.m. and found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds.

While officers were at that scene, they learned of a call reporting shots fired across the street at Aroma Therapy Spa. Officers found one woman who appeared to have been shot and was dead inside the business.

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Earlier in the afternoon, authorities in Cherokee County, roughly 35 miles north of Atlanta, said four people were killed and one other injured at a massage parlor there, according to local news outlets.

It appears that all five victims were shot inside the business near the corner of Georgia Highway 92 and Bells Ferry Road, Baker said. He told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the suspect was captured by surveillance video pulling up to the business around 4:50 p.m. Tuesday, minutes before the shooting, authorities said.

Deputies called to the scene arrived minutes later to find two victims shot dead and three with gunshot wounds. The injured victims were taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Kennesaw where two more died, Baker said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.

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