The suspect in the shootings at three Georgia massage parlours which left eight people dead has been charged with murder and assault.

Authorities in Cherokee County say 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long was charged with four counts of murder and one count of assault in the shooting at a massage parlour there.

The other victims were killed at two massage parlours in Atlanta.

Officials said they are still investigating whether the Georgia killings were hate crimes amid concerns over a wave of attacks on Asian Americans.

Six of the victims were Asian and seven were women.

Authorities said the man accused in the shootings told police his act was not racially motivated and that he potentially had a “sex addiction”.