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

The incident could also be linked to shootings at Asian-run businesses, police said.

17 Might 2022, 21:08

• 7 min learn

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the Might 11 shooting of three women in a hair salon in the city's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and could possibly be linked to a series of recent shootings at Asian-run companies within the city, police mentioned.

The victims, the salon proprietor, an employee and a buyer, are all Korean, based on ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The ladies suffered nonfatal accidents and have been transported to a neighborhood hospital, in accordance with police.

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

"During our investigation, detectives realized that two years in the past Smith had a motorized vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia stated. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he's round anybody of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Area Office, the U.S. Legal professional’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 advised ABC News on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to completely investigate this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we're not capable of comment additional right now."

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

Two of the capturing victims – the proprietor and an worker – have been present on the assembly, in response to WFAA. The employee spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face coated. The women didn't reveal their names.

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

"At this time, there have been no arrests on those instances," Garcia stated, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia introduced during a Friday press convention that legislation enforcement “concluded three current shootings of Asian run businesses may be linked.” The suspect in every incident was driving a similar car.

This picture shows the inside of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Might 12, 2022. Police are in search of a man who opened fireplace contained in the salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three people.

Police mentioned they learned from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what appeared to be "a dark shade minivan-type vehicle" on Royal Lane after which walked throughout the parking lot and into the establishment, allegedly opening hearth as quickly as he entered the salon.

Police additionally launched a safety picture of a maroon minivan they mentioned the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia stated the shooting on the salon might be linked to at least one that occurred a day before and one which befell final month.

Police learned from witness reports that on April 2, a driver in a red minivan drove past a strip mall of Asian-run businesses and fired pictures at three companies. Nobody was injured.

And on May 10, a suspect in a burgundy van or automobile drove by and shot into Asian-run businesses close to 4849 Sunnyvale Road, police mentioned.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we now have reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the potential connection and ask for their assistance,” Garcia stated. “This contains the FBI and member businesses of the Joint Terrorism Activity Drive. We are additionally working with North Texas police partners to find out if this criminal motion has or is going down of their jurisdictions.”

Hair World Salon in Dallas, Might 12, 2022. A person opened hearth contained in the hair salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three folks.

Garcia stated police will probably be rising the presence of high visibility patrol officers in areas within the city the place there are massive Asian American populations.

“We're turning to each resident of town of Dallas to maintain a watch out and safeguard our metropolis,” Garcia said. “Hate has no place right here.”

These incidents in Dallas come amid a spate of attacks concentrating on Asian Americans throughout the nation, which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Jim Ryan reviews:

ABC News' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.