By Dominic Taylor-
Eight people of Asian descent, have been killed in shootings at spas in the US state of Georgia.
It follows a spate of attacks against Asians in The U.S by racists, who blame Asians for the global spread of Covid-19 which has killed millions world wide. No factual motive has been established for the killings.
Police say the shootings of the mostly Asian women, took place at a massage parlour in Acworth, a suburb north of Atlanta, and two spas in the city itself. A 21 year old suspect is in custody.
South Korea later confirmed that four of the victims were of Korean descent.
No motive has yet been established, but there are fears the crimes may have deliberately targeted people of Asian descent.
Hate crimes against Asian-Americans spiked in recent months, fuelled by rhetoric that blames them for the spread of Covid-19.
In an address last week, President Joe Biden condemned “vicious hate crimes against Asian-Americans who have been attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated.”
Two people died at the scene and three were taken to hospital, where two more died, sheriff’s office spokesman Capt Jay Baker said. He later confirmed the victims were two Asian women, a white woman and a white man, and said a Hispanic man had been wounded.
Less than an hour later, police were called to a “robbery in progress” at Gold Spa in north-east Atlanta.
“Upon arrival, officers located three females deceased inside the location from apparent gunshot wounds,” police said.
Investigators who had studied CCTV footage then released images of a suspect near one of the spas. Police said that, after a manhunt, Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, Georgia, was arrested in Crisp County, about 150 miles (240km) south of Atlanta.
Robert Aaron Long, 21, of Woodstock in Cherokee County poses in a jail booking photograph after he was taken into custody by the Crisp County Sheriff”s Office in Cordele, Georgia, U.S. March 16, 2021.
The advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate, which tracks attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, said it was not clear “whether or not the shootings were related or motivated by hate. But right now there is a great deal of fear and pain in the Asian American community that must be addressed”.
It called the shootings “an unspeakable tragedy” for both the victims’ families and the Asian-American community, which has “been reeling from high levels of racist attacks”.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and three were transported to a hospital, where two died, Baker said.