Xenophobia fears sparked as Asian women among 8 killed in Atlanta spa shootings We never know when we re at the wrong place at the wrong time because this was so all of a sudden. A handout booking photo released by the Crisp County Sheriff s Office on 16 March 2021 shows 21-year-old shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long. Picture: Crisp County Sheriff s Office/AFP
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ATLANTA - Six Asian women were among eight people shot and killed at spas around the US city of Atlanta on Tuesday, with a white man in custody on suspicion of staging all three attacks, police said.
The shootings came with many Asian-Americans already on edge following a recent spike in hate crimes against the community, and triggered immediate fears that Asian-run businesses may have been deliberately targeted.
Suspect in Georgia spa killings charged with 8 counts of murder
Suspect in Georgia spas killing spree blames his addiction to sex : Sheriff
Replay Video UP NEXT The man suspected of killing eight people in three separate shootings at spas in the Atlanta area on Tuesday has allegedly admitted to the killings and blamed his addiction to sex as the motive, authorities said. The suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Georgia, was taken into custody Tuesday night following a police pursuit, authorities said. The Cherokee County Sheriff s Office said, Long confessed to the shootings in Cherokee County and Atlanta. He was charged Wednesday afternoon with four counts of murder by the Atlanta Police Department and four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault by the Cherokee County Sheriff s Office.
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Just before 9:00 p.m., Cherokee officials said he was arrested in Crisp County, Georgia which is off I-75 in south Central Georgia, about 150 miles south of Atlanta. Officials told 11Alive s Jon Shirek they used a PIT maneuver to stop his vehicle.
According to Capt. Baker, Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds had information that Long was driving south on I-75, and was able to track Long. Baker said Sheriff Reynolds called Crisp County Sheriff Billy Hancock to alert him that Long was approaching Crisp County. Sheriff Hancock deployed his deputies, and they, along with Georgia State Patrol troopers, intercepted Long. That s when a trooper used the PIT maneuver to stop Long.
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The suspect, 21-year-old Robert Long, will appear in court Thursday.
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The suspect, 21-year-old Robert Long, was taken into custody Tuesday night.Mike Stewart/AP
The man suspected of killing eight people in three separate shootings at spas in the Atlanta area on Tuesday has allegedly admitted to the killings and blamed his addiction to sex as the motive, authorities said.
The suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Georgia, was taken into custody Tuesday night following a police pursuit, authorities said.
The Cherokee County Sheriff s Office said, Long confessed to the shootings in Cherokee County and Atlanta.