At least eight people died in three shooting incidents in United States’ Georgia district on Tuesday evening, AP reported, citing authorities. The police said that a 21-year-old man suspected to be involved in the shootings has been taken into custody.

The police said that six of those killed were Asian women, according to Reuters. The attacks began around 5 pm, when four people were killed and another injured at Youngs Asian Massage Parlor in a strip mall near a rural area in Acworth, about 50 kilometers from Atlanta, said Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Captain Jay Baker.

Baker said that two women of Asian descent were among the dead there, along with a white woman and a white man, adding that the suspect, Robert Aaron Long, was taken into custody in Crisp County, about 240 kilometers south of Atlanta.

The police in the Buckhead neighbourhood of Atlanta found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds at a spa around 5.50 pm. While at the spa, the police learnt about shooting at another spa across the street called Aromatherapy Spa, where another woman was found dead. All the four killed were women of Asian descent.

Authorities in Atlanta were investigating if the shootings at the three spas were connected, reported CNN. Officials in each jurisdiction where the shooting took place said there were no immediate indications of motive and that it was unclear if they were related. An officer told CNN that they had a working theory that the cases were connected.

The police said video footage showed the vehicle of the suspect in the area of the Atlanta spas about the time of the attacks. This, along with other video evidence, “suggests it is extremely likely our suspect is the same as Cherokee County’s, who is in custody,” Atlanta Police said in a statement.

Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Kevin Rowson said the agency was helping Atlanta and Cherokee County authorities in the investigation.

In a video posted on Facebook, Crisp County Sheriff Billy Hancock said that that his deputies and state troopers were notified around 8 pm that a murder suspect was headed towards their county. A state trooper performed a pursuit intervention technique manoeuvre, “which caused the vehicle [of Long] to spin out of control,” Hancock said.

Following the shootings, the Atlanta Police said they have deployed officers to check nearby similar businesses and increased patrols in the area.