Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has released a statement in the wake of the massage parlor attacks that left eight people dead, saying Wednesday that "a crime against any community is a crime against us all."
At least six people of Asian American descent were among the dead. Police have not said whether race played a factor in the shootings.
ATLANTA MASSAGE PARLOR SHOOTINGS: BIDEN BRIEFED ON DEADLY ATTACK AS DETAILS EMERGE
In her Wednesday morning statement, Bottoms lauded law enforcement "for their quick work in arresting" 21-year-old suspect Robert Aaron Long, from Woodstock, Ga. She noted that a motive has not yet been determined.
"I have remained in close contact with the White House and [Atlanta Police Department (APD)] as they work with federal, state and local partners to investigate the suspect who is responsible for this senseless violence in our city," she said. "My prayers are with the families and friends of the victims whose lives were cut short by these shootings."
President Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland have been fully briefed on the attacks, White House officials confirmed.
Long was arrested just hours after the shootings in Crisp County, about 150 miles south of Atlanta, according to officials.
Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jay Baker told reporters that investigators still don’t know Long’s relationship with any of the victims.
"We don’t know if this is a random act," he said.
The attacks began Tuesday evening when five people were shot at Young’s Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, about 30 miles north of Atlanta, Baker said. Two people died at the scene and three were taken to a hospital where two died, he said.
WSB-TV reported another person, a man, was wounded in the shooting but is expected to survive.
About an hour later, police responding to a call about a robbery found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds at Gold Spa in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta. While there, officers 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.
Surveillance video recorded a man pulling up to the Acworth business about 10 minutes before the attack there, authorities said, and the same car was spotted outside the Atlanta businesses. A manhunt was launched, and Long was ultimately captured.
Authorities are expected to share more details during a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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