Five people were shot dead Tuesday night in a shooting at a suburban Atlanta spa, local police were quoted by U.S. media as saying.

Murder-suicide seemed to be the motive of the shooting at the Su Jung Health Sauna, said Norcross police chief Warren Summers. The police said a preliminary investigation indicated the killer was among the dead.

However, other details of the shooting and the killer's identity still remained unknown.

Gun violence has erupted from time to time in the United States over the past few years.

In 2009, a military psychiatrist killed 13 in a shooting spree at the U.S. Fort Hood Army base, while last January, a gunman named Jared Loughner gunned down six people and wounded 13 others, including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, in Tucson, Arizona.

Gun control has always been a very controversial issue in the country. Despite chronic gun violence, the pro-gun movement has continuously gained momentum in the United States. A Gallup poll conducted last October suggested only 26 percent of those surveyed said they supported an overall ban on hand guns.