Eight killed in shootings at three US massage parlours; 21yo suspect arrested

Robert Aaron Long was arrested hours after the shootings. Photo / Cherokee County Sheriff's Office via AP

Shootings at three US massage parlours have left eight people dead, authorities say.

A 21-year-old man was taken into custody in southwest Georgia hours later after a manhunt.

Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said three people were killed at a spa in northeast Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon (Wednesday NZT), while a fourth person was killed at another spa across the street. He said all four victims were female, and "It appears that they may be Asian".

Atlanta police officers responding to a call of a robbery in progress at one spa around 5.50pm found three women dead from apparent gunshot wounds, police said.

Shootings at three massage parlours in Atlanta have left eight people dead.

While they were at that scene, they learned of a call reporting shots fired at another spa across the street and found a woman who appeared to have been shot dead inside the business.

Earlier, around 5pm, five people were shot at Young's Asian Massage Parlor in Acworth, about 50km north of Atlanta, Cherokee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Captain Jay Baker said. Two of the victims were dead and three were transported to a hospital where two of them also died.

Authorities were not immediately releasing the gender or race of the victims, Baker said.

Atlanta police have stepped up patrols around similar businesses in the wake of the shootings. Photo / AP

A man suspected in the Acworth shooting was captured by surveillance video pulling up to the business around 4.50pm, minutes before the shooting, authorities said.

Baker said the suspect, Robert Aaron Long, of Woodstock, was taken into custody about 240km south of Atlanta.

Baker said they believe Long is also the suspect in the Atlanta shootings.

Atlanta police said they dispatched officers to check nearby similar businesses and increased patrols in the area.