Suspect identified in Dallas salon capturing as FBI opens hate crime investigation

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

17 Might 2022, 21:08

• 7 min learn

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the Might 11 shooting of three ladies in a hair salon within the city's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and may very well be linked to a collection of recent shootings at Asian-run companies within the city, police stated.

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

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

"During our investigation, detectives discovered that two years in the past Smith had a motor vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia said. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he's around 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 Department of Justice have opened a federal hate crime investigation into the incident at Hair World Salon in Dallas,” a spokesperson for the FBI discipline workplace in Dallas instructed ABC Information on Monday. "We're in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to thoroughly examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we are not capable of comment further right now."

Police met with group members at a city hall in Koreatown on Monday amid considerations for the general public's security.

Two of the shooting victims – the owner and an employee – have been present at the assembly, based on WFAA. The employee spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face coated. The ladies did not reveal their names.

Garcia mentioned that police continue to research two different shootings which may be linked to the salon shooting.

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced during a Friday press convention that legislation enforcement “concluded three latest shootings of Asian run businesses could also be linked.” The suspect in each incident was driving the same vehicle.

This photo reveals the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are in search of a person who opened fire inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three people.

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

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

Garcia mentioned the shooting on the salon is likely to be linked to at least one that happened a day earlier than and one which passed off last month.

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

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

“Out of an abundance of warning, we have reached out to our partners to make them aware of the doable connection and ask for his or her assistance,” Garcia stated. “This includes the FBI and member businesses of the Joint Terrorism Activity Pressure. We're also working with North Texas police partners to find out if this felony motion has or is taking place in their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia said police might be rising the presence of high visibility patrol officers in areas within the city where there are large Asian American populations.

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

These incidents in Dallas come amid a spate of attacks targeting Asian People across the nation, which spiked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Jim Ryan experiences:

ABC News' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.