NEW YORK — The New York City Police Department's Critical Response Command has been deployed to Asian communities throughout the city after Tuesday's deadly shootings at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area.

Investigators say several of the victims are Asian.

Robert Aaron Long of Woodstock, Georgia is in custody in connection with the shootings.

Police say five people were found shot at a parlor north of Atlanta around 5 p.m.

Four of the victims died.

About an hour later, three more women were found shot to death at a spa in Atlanta.

Another woman was found dead at a parlor across the street.

The shootings come amid an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes across the country.