Seven people were killed and two others were wounded on Tuesday in a series of shootings at massage parlors in the Atlanta area, with the authorities saying it was unclear whether they were connected.
The earliest shooting, at Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, a northwest suburb of Atlanta, was reported around 5 p.m., said Capt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
Captain Baker said investigators were working with the Atlanta police to determine whether the attack was connected to two shootings at massage parlors in the city.
He said he could not elaborate on a possible motive for the Acworth shooting. The authorities said they were searching for a man who was believed to be the gunman.
At 5:47 p.m., the Atlanta police responded to a robbery at a massage parlor in the northeast part of the city, where they found the bodies of three women with gunshot wounds. While the officers were at the scene, the police said, they received a report of shots fired at a spa across the street, where they found the body of another woman.
“Many have asked whether these shootings are related to Cherokee County’s shootings,” Sgt. John Chafee, an Atlanta Police Department spokesman, said in an email on Tuesday night. “At the moment, it is too early to confirm that, but we have spoken with Cherokee County officials and we are looking into that possibility.”