Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs Tuesday evening left eight people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said. A 21-year-old man suspected in the shootings was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt, police said.

The attacks began around 5 p.m., when five people were shot at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor in a strip mall near a rural area in Acworth, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Atlanta, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said. Two people died at the scene and three were transported to a hospital where two of them also died, Baker said.

No one was arrested at the scene.

Around 5:50 p.m., police in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, responding to a call of a robbery in progress, found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds at Gold Spa. While they were at that scene, they learned of a call reporting shots fired at another spa across the street, Aromatherapy Spa, and found a woman who appeared to have been shot dead inside the business.

“It appears that they may be Asian,” Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in statement Wednesday that its diplomats in Atlanta have confirmed from police that four of the victims who died were women of Korean descent. The ministry said the office of its Consulate General in Atlanta is trying to confirm the nationality of the women.

The killings came amid a recent wave of attacks against Asian Americans that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the United States.

With files from the Associated Press

GUESTS:

Cameron McWhirter, Wall Street Journal reporter based in Atlanta who is covering the shootings; he tweets @cammcwhirter

Judy Chu, U.S. Congresswoman representing California’s 27th Congressional District, which includes Pasadena and the west San Gabriel Valley; she tweets @RepJudyChu

Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, a reporting center that tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States; tweets @KulkarniManju   

Shootings at two massage parlors in Atlanta and one in the suburbs Tuesday evening left eight people dead, many of them women of Asian descent, authorities said. A 21-year-old man suspected in the shootings was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt, police said.
The attacks began around 5 p.m., when five people were shot at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor in a strip mall near a rural area in Acworth, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Atlanta, Cherokee County Sheriff&rsquo;s Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker said. Two people died at the scene and three were transported to a hospital where two of them also died, Baker said.
No one was arrested at the scene.
Around 5:50 p.m., police in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, responding to a call of a robbery in progress, found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds at Gold Spa. While they were at that scene, they learned of a call reporting shots fired at another spa across the street, Aromatherapy Spa, and found a woman who appeared to have been shot dead inside the business.
&ldquo;It appears that they may be Asian,&rdquo; Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said.
South Korea&rsquo;s Foreign Ministry said in statement Wednesday that its diplomats in Atlanta have confirmed from police that four of the victims who died were women of Korean descent. The ministry said the office of its Consulate General in Atlanta is trying to confirm the nationality of the women.
The killings came amid a recent wave of attacks against Asian Americans that coincided with the spread of the coronavirus across the United States.
With files from the Associated Press
GUESTS:
<a href="https://www.wsj.com/news/author/cameron-mcwhirter">Cameron McWhirter</a>, Wall Street Journal reporter based in Atlanta who is covering the shootings; he tweets&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/cammcwhirter">@cammcwhirter</a>
<a href="https://chu.house.gov/about/full-biography">Judy Chu</a>,&nbsp;U.S. Congresswoman representing California&rsquo;s 27th Congressional District, which includes Pasadena and the west San Gabriel Valley; she tweets&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/RepJudyChu">@RepJudyChu</a>
<a href="http://www.asianpacificpolicyandplanningcouncil.org/staff/">Manjusha Kulkarni</a>, executive director of Asian Pacific Policy &amp; Planning Council and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, a reporting center that tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States; tweets&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kulkarnimanju?lang=en">@KulkarniManju &nbsp;&nbsp;</a>

Join Larry Mantle weekdays for lively and in-depth discussions of Los Angeles and Southern California news, politics, science, entertainment, the arts and more. More AirTalk at www.kpcc.org.

Join Larry Mantle weekdays for lively and in-depth discussions of Los Angeles and Southern California news, politics, science, entertainment, the arts and more. More AirTalk at www.kpcc.org.

Lively and in-depth discussions of city news, politics, science, entertainment, the arts, and more.

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