Eight people, many of them women of Asian descent, have been killed in shootings at spas in the US state of Georgia. Police said the shootings took place at a massage parlour in Acworth, a suburb north of Atlanta, and two spas in the city itself.
South Korea later confirmed that four of the victims were of Korean descent.
Officials said a 21-year-old man had been arrested and was believed to be the suspect in all of the attacks.
No motive has yet been established.
However, hate crimes against Asian-Americans have 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.” Read more on the BBC.
Police now believe the two shootings in Atlanta and Cherokee were connected, and that the suspect in the Cherokee County shooting – 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long – is also suspected of the Atlanta killings.
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