8 dead in US spa shootings

Eight people were killed in shootings at three different spas in the US state of Georgia Tuesday and a 21-year-old male suspect was in custody, police and local media reported, though it was unclear if the attacks were related.

Four people were killed in a shooting at Young’s Asian Massage near Acworth, a suburb of Georgia’s capital city Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, citing the Cherokee County sheriff’s office.

“Shooting suspect in custody!” the county sheriff’s office posted on Facebook.

The Atlanta police department separately confirmed that four women were found dead at two business establishments in Atlanta, identified by media as the Gold Massage Spa, and Aroma Therapy spa.

“Upon arrival, officers located three females deceased inside the location from apparent gunshot wounds,” the police department said in a statement.

While on the scene, officers were advised of shots fired across the street, and upon responding they found a fourth woman who appeared to have been shot dead.

Police told CNN told that all four victims in Atlanta appeared to be Asian.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the suspect is a 21-year-old man, taken into custody about 240km from Atlanta.

“At this time, investigators are gathering information from both scenes to determine exactly what occurred and attempting to obtain confirmed information regarding the suspect or suspects,” said the Atlanta police statement.

It said it was too early to confirm whether the shootings in Atlanta and Cherokee County were linked but that they were “looking into that possibility”.