Suspect recognized in Dallas salon shooting as FBI opens hate crime investigation

The incident could also be related to shootings at Asian-run businesses, police stated.

17 Could 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in connection with the Might 11 capturing of three girls in a hair salon within the city's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and could be linked to a sequence of recent shootings at Asian-run businesses in the metropolis, police said.

The victims, the salon proprietor, an employee and a customer, are all Korean, based on ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal accidents and were transported to a local hospital, in line with police.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia recognized the suspect as 36-year-old Jeremy Smith throughout a press conference on Tuesday. Garcia said that Smith was charged with three counts of aggravated assault.

"Throughout our investigation, detectives discovered that two years in the past Smith had a motor vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia mentioned. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he is round anyone of Asian descent."

The Dallas Police Department and the FBI are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

"The Dallas FBI Subject Office, the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Northern District in Texas and the Civil Rights Division of the Division of Justice have opened a federal hate crime investigation into the incident at Hair World Salon in Dallas,” a spokesperson for the FBI field workplace in Dallas instructed ABC Information on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to thoroughly investigate this incident. As this is an ongoing investigation, we're not able to comment additional at this time."

Police met with neighborhood members at a town corridor in Koreatown on Monday amid issues for the public's safety.

Two of the taking pictures victims – the proprietor and an worker – have been present on the meeting, according to WFAA. The worker spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face coated. The ladies didn't reveal their names.

Garcia stated that police proceed to investigate two other shootings which may be linked to the salon shooting.

"At the moment, there have been no arrests on these cases," Garcia mentioned, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced during a Friday press conference that regulation enforcement “concluded three current shootings of Asian run companies may be connected.” The suspect in every incident was driving an analogous vehicle.

This picture reveals the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are looking for a person who opened fire contained in the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three folks.

Police said they learned from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what seemed to be "a darkish coloration minivan-type vehicle" on Royal Lane and then walked throughout the car parking zone and into the establishment, allegedly opening fire as quickly as he entered the salon.

Police also launched a safety image of a maroon minivan they mentioned the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia stated the shooting on the salon may be linked to one that happened a day before and one that came about final month.

Police learned from witness experiences that on April 2, a driver in a red minivan drove previous a strip mall of Asian-run businesses and fired shots at three companies. No one was injured.

And on Could 10, a suspect in a burgundy van or car drove by and shot into Asian-run businesses near 4849 Sunnyvale Street, police stated.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the doable connection and ask for his or her help,” Garcia mentioned. “This includes the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Activity Power. We are additionally working with North Texas police companions to determine if this felony motion has or is happening of their jurisdictions.”

Hair World Salon in Dallas, Could 12, 2022. A person opened fireplace contained in the hair salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three folks.

Garcia stated police will likely be increasing the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas within the city where there are giant Asian American populations.

“We are turning to each resident of town of Dallas to maintain an eye out and safeguard our metropolis,” Garcia stated. “Hate has no place here.”

These incidents in Dallas come amid a spate of assaults concentrating on Asian People across the nation, which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Jim Ryan experiences:

ABC Information' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.