FOG BLOG U.S. NEWS LOG: ATLANTA POLICE LAUNCH PROBE, CALLING SPA SHOOTINGS - HATE CRIME:

Robert Aaron Long has been charged with murdering four people at two spas in Atlanta and four more in Cherokee County about 40 miles (64 km) to its north on Tuesday.

Atlanta Police Chief Charles Hampton told a news conference that investigators were still trying to determine a motive but that charging Long with a hate crime was not "off the table."

Long, a 21-year-old white male, suggested to investigators that a sex addiction led him to violence.

Hampton said Long patronized the two Atlanta establishments he is accused of attacking using a 9mm gun. Authorities are not ready to release the names of the victims, police said.