Six Asian women were among the eight people shot and killed in spas in the US city of Atlanta, with a white man presently in custody for staging
a total of three attacks. The attacks largely have the Asian-American community
on edge after a recent spike in anti-Asian crimes in the city, as fears of the
Asian-owned establishments being specifically targeted run high, reported AFP.

Young’s Asian Massage near Acworth was the scene of death for four of
the victims. The city, a suburb to Georgia’s capital Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
was reported as saying.

In two other attacks on two spas in the north-eastern fringes of the city,
four women had been killed.

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Police officers arriving at the scenes reportedly found “three females
deceased inside the location from apparent gunshot wounds”, AFP quoted the city
police department as saying.

While on the scene, officers were advised of shots fired across the
street, where they found a fourth female victim.

Police told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that all four were Asian
women.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported the country’s foreign
ministry had confirmed that four of the victims were of Korean descent.

Authorities have identified Robert Aaron Long as a suspect in all
three shootings.

Based on the pattern of surveillance video from the shooting scenes,
Atlanta police spokesman Sergeant John Chafee told AFP: “It is extremely
likely our suspect is the same as Cherokee County’s, who is in custody.”

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“We are working closely with them to confirm with certainty our
cases are related,” he added.

Long was taken into custody after a “brief pursuit” about
150 miles (240 kilometers) from Atlanta, according to a statement by the
Georgia Department of Safety on Facebook.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was assisting in the
investigation, a spokesman told AFP.

The shootings come as reports of attacks against Asian-Americans,
primarily elders, have spiked in recent months — fueled during the Covid-19
pandemic, activists believe, by talk of the “Chinese virus” by former
president Donald Trump and others.

News of the shootings came just hours after the release of a report by
the advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate suggested a marked increase in hate crimes
against Asia-Americans — with women disproportionately affected.

In a tally of incidents reported to the group between March 2020 and
February this year, almost 70 percent of Asian-American survey respondents said
they had faced verbal harassment and just over one in 10 said they had
experienced physical assault.

Georgia is home to nearly 500,000 Asian residents, or just over four
percent of its population, according to the Asian American Advocacy Fund.

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Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock condemned the violence in a tweet late
Tuesday.

“My heart is broken tonight after the tragic violence in Atlanta
that took eight lives,” he said.

“Praying for the families of the victims and for peace for the
community.”

The Democratic party in the state called Tuesday’s shooting spree
“horrifying.”

“As details continue to emerge, this attack sadly follows the
unacceptable pattern of violence against Asian Americans that has skyrocketed
throughout this pandemic,” said Congresswoman Nikema Williams, who is also
the state party’s chairwoman.

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In an address to the nation last Thursday, President Joe Biden
forcefully condemned what he called “vicious hate crimes against
Asian-Americans who have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated.”

“It’s wrong. It’s un-American. And it must stop,” he said.