Mar 17, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Suspect in Georgia shootings charged with murder, assault

Orion Rummler

Two men stand under a sign that says Golden Spa — Police officers outside a massage parlor where three people were shot and killed on March 16 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images/

The suspect arrested following three separate shooting incidents on Tuesday night in the Atlanta area that killed eight people has been charged with murder and assault, the Cherokee County Sheriff's office said in a statement Wednesday.

Why it matters: Six of the victims were Asian women. Advocacy groups including Stop AAPI Hate have denounced the lethal incident as the latest in a spree of increased violence targeting Asian Americans since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Another person was injured.

What they're saying: Officials are still investigating whether the shootings were a hate crime, per AP.

Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old white man from Woodstock, Georgia, faces eight counts of murder and is being held without bond, per the Cherokee County Sheriff's office.
The Sheriff's office charged him with one count of assault and four counts of murder, and the Atlanta Police Department charged him with four counts of murder.
Sheriff Frank Reynolds said officers interviewed the suspect on Tuesday and that he "made indicators that he has some issues, potentially sexual addiction, and may have frequented some of these places in the past."

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the charges laid by the Atlanta Police Department.

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Suspect in Georgia shootings charged with murder, assault

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