SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - Eight people, including six women of Asian origin, were killed in shooting spree at three massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia.
South Korea's foreign ministry has confirmed that four of the victims were of Korean descent. Two other victims were a white woman and a white man, according to the spokesman for Acworth, Cherokee County Sheriff's office.
Public officials raised doubt if the attacks were racially motivated as a rise in hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans were reported in recent months.
The first attack took pace at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor, northwest of Atlanta, at about 5 PM local time Tuesday, followed by shootings at Gold Spa and Aromatherapy Spa, both in north-east Atlanta.
All attacks took place within one hour.
Prime suspect, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long of Woodstock, Georgia, was arrested about 150 miles away from the shooting site Tuesday night.
Advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate [Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders] condemned the incident. 'The reported shootings of Asian American women on Tuesday in Atlanta is an unspeakable tragedy - for the families of the victims first and foremost, but also for the AAPI community - which has been reeling from high levels of racial discrimination,' it said on Twitter.
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