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

The incident could also be connected to shootings at Asian-run companies, police stated.

17 May 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

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

The victims, the salon proprietor, an worker and a buyer, are all Korean, in line with ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal injuries and were transported to an area hospital, in line with police.

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

"Throughout our investigation, detectives learned that two years ago 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 Discipline Workplace, the U.S. Legal professional’s Office 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 field office in Dallas instructed ABC News on Monday. "We're in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to thoroughly investigate this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to remark additional presently."

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

Two of the capturing victims – the owner and an employee – were present on the assembly, in accordance with WFAA. The worker spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face lined. The women didn't reveal their names.

Garcia said that police continue to analyze two different shootings which may be linked to the salon capturing.

"At the moment, there have been no arrests on those cases," Garcia said, including that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia introduced throughout a Friday press conference that law enforcement “concluded three current shootings of Asian run companies could also be linked.” The suspect in each incident was driving a similar vehicle.

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

Police mentioned they learned from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what seemed to be "a dark color minivan-type automobile" on Royal Lane after which walked across the parking zone and into the establishment, allegedly opening fire as quickly as he entered the salon.

Police also released a safety image of a maroon minivan they said the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia said the capturing at the salon is likely to be linked to 1 that occurred a day earlier than and one that took place last month.

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

And on Could 10, a suspect in a burgundy van or automotive drove by and shot into Asian-run companies close to 4849 Sunnyvale Road, police said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, now we have reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the potential connection and ask for his or her assistance,” Garcia stated. “This includes the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Process Drive. We're additionally working with North Texas police companions to find out if this felony action has or is taking place in their jurisdictions.”

Hair World Salon in Dallas, May 12, 2022. A man opened fireplace inside the hair salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three folks.

Garcia mentioned police might be growing the presence of high visibility patrol officers in areas in the city the place there are massive Asian American populations.

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

These incidents in Dallas come amid a spate of attacks focusing on Asian Individuals throughout the nation, which spiked through the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Jim Ryan experiences:

ABC Information' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.