Eight people were shot and killed Tuesday night at three massage parlors near Atlanta, Georgia. According to the New York Times (opens in new tab), six of the eight were Asian and seven were women.

The shootings occurred after months of violent attacks against Asian and Asian Americans, some of which went viral on social media (open in new tab) The organization Stop AAPI Hate (open in new tab) was formed in March 2020 formed in March to track reports of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders "in response to the alarming escalation of xenophobia and bigotry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic." Although the organization states (opens in new tab) that "few details have been released about these shootings, including whether or not they were motivated by hate," it has received nearly 3,800 reports (opens in new tab) of anti-Asian hate from across the United States since last March.

Below is what you need to know about this latest act of violence and how you can continue to support Asians, Asian Americans, and the AAPI community.

According to the Times (opens in new tab), the first shooting occurred at Young's Asian Massage and was reported to police around 5 pm. Less than an hour later, officers went to Gold Spa, about 30 miles away, to respond to a robbery and (open in new tab) found three more women shot to death. At the same time the officers were at Gold Spa, Atlanta police received a call about an aromatherapy spa across the street. There they found another woman who had been shot. A spokesman for the Atlanta office told the Times that the FBI is cooperating with the investigation, and according to CNN (opens in new tab), police said it is "extremely likely" that the same person is responsible for all three shootings based on video evidence.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Composition (open in new tab), authorities have not yet released the identities of the victims, but an official at the Korean Consulate in Atlanta confirmed to the Times (open in new tab) that the four were Korean.

Georgia politicians tweeted in response to Tuesday's shooting, including Governor Brian Kemp (open in new tab) and Senator Raphael Warnock (open in new tab). Congresswoman Grace Meng wrote on Twitter: "My heart breaks for those who died in these senseless shootings. And this is all the more painful because AAPI has been telling you for the last year that our community is in danger. Unless our country liquidates and stops the hatred of AAPI, we cannot move forward.

Stop AAPI Hate released a statement on Tuesday, saying: "The reported shooting of multiple Asian American women in Atlanta today is an unspeakable tragedy - first and foremost for the families of the victims, and for the high levels of racist attacks over the past year. for the Asian-American community, which had been reeling from the

President Barack Obama also tweeted: "While the motives of the shooter are not yet clear, the identities of the victims highlight an alarming increase in anti-Asian violence. He continued, "Yesterday's shooting is another tragedy that reminds us that we have much more work to do to implement common sense gun safety laws and eradicate the patterns of hatred and violence that pervade our society.

If you are looking for a place to donate, there are many organizations working to combat anti-Asian violence and provide ongoing support to the local AAPI community:

Against anti-Asian violence, hate, and harassment, both on social media and in your social circles, as well as within their own social circles: an organization called Hollaback, which is a non-profit organization that works to combat anti-Asian violence, hate, and harassment in the local community. (opens in new tab) has also partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice to offer free bystander intervention training and conflict mitigation training to stop anti-Asian and xenophobic harassment. Click here to register (opens in new tab).