Suspect identified in Dallas salon taking pictures as FBI opens hate crime investigation

The incident could also be related to shootings at Asian-run companies, police mentioned.

17 Might 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

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

The victims, the salon proprietor, an worker and a customer, are all Korean, in response to ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The ladies suffered nonfatal accidents and were transported to a local hospital, in response to police.

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

"During our investigation, detectives realized that two years ago Smith had a motorcar crash with an Asian male," Garcia mentioned. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he is round anybody of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Field Workplace, 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 area office in Dallas instructed ABC News on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to totally examine this incident. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not capable of remark additional at this time."

Police met with community members at a city corridor in Koreatown on Monday amid concerns for the public's safety.

Two of the shooting victims – the owner and an employee – have been current on the meeting, in keeping with WFAA. The employee spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face covered. The ladies did not reveal their names.

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

"Presently, there have been no arrests on those circumstances," Garcia said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia introduced during a Friday press conference that law enforcement “concluded three current shootings of Asian run companies may be related.” The suspect in every incident was driving an identical car.

This photograph reveals the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are searching for a person who opened fire inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three folks.

Police stated they learned from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what appeared to be "a darkish color minivan-type automobile" on Royal Lane and then walked throughout the parking zone and into the institution, allegedly opening fireplace as soon as he entered the salon.

Police additionally released a safety picture of a maroon minivan they said the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia mentioned the capturing on the salon may be linked to 1 that happened a day before and one which took place final month.

Police learned from witness studies that on April 2, a driver in a purple minivan drove previous a strip mall of Asian-run businesses and fired shots 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 companies close to 4849 Sunnyvale Avenue, police stated.

“Out of an abundance of warning, we have now reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the attainable connection and ask for his or her help,” Garcia stated. “This includes the FBI and member companies of the Joint Terrorism Task Pressure. We are additionally working with North Texas police companions to find out if this criminal motion has or is happening of their jurisdictions.”

Hair World Salon in Dallas, Could 12, 2022. A man opened fireplace inside the hair salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three individuals.

Garcia said police will likely be increasing the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas within the city the place there are large Asian American populations.

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

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

ABC's Jim Ryan reviews:

ABC Information' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.