Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in Tuesday’s massage parlor shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, was arrested and charged by the Atlanta Police Department on Wednesday. He is facing eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault with four counts and the count of aggravated assault for the first shooting in Cherokee County and the other four counts for the shootings at two spas in Atlanta that took place less than an hour later.

The first distress calls came from the area in Acworth, Cobb County, Georgia. Five people were shot in Young’s Asian massage parlor with only one man surviving. The second shooting scene where three other women were found dead was located 50 kilometres towards the northeast of Atlanta in a parlor called Gold Spa. Another woman was found dead in Aromatherapy Spa just across the street.

Long’s parents contacted the Cherokee County Police after identifying their son in the released surveillance footage. The Georgia State Patrol and Crisp County Police located and apprehended Long on the interstate about 240 kilometers south of Atlanta. He is currently being held in custody without bond.

Six of the victims were women of Asian descent. The other two were a man and woman, both of caucasian descent. Long has denied that the motive of the shooting was racially charged but instead claims it was impelled by his sexual addiction and has confessed that he was admitted into rehab for being a sex addict.

Long could be charged further with hate crimes due to Georgia’s new legislative responses such as  House Bill 426, which was passed by the state’s legislature in response to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery.