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

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

17 May 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the Could 11 taking pictures of three women in a hair salon in the metropolis'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 businesses within the metropolis, police stated.

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

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia recognized 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.

"Throughout our investigation, detectives learned that two years in the past Smith had a motorcar crash with an Asian male," Garcia mentioned. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he's round anybody 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 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 subject workplace in Dallas instructed ABC Information on Monday. "We are in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to totally examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we're not in a position to remark further at the moment."

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

Two of the taking pictures victims – the owner and an worker – had been current at the assembly, according to WFAA. The employee spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face coated. The women didn't reveal their names.

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

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced during a Friday press convention that legislation enforcement “concluded three recent shootings of Asian run companies may be related.” The suspect in every incident was driving a similar vehicle.

This picture exhibits 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 space, wounding three folks.

Police said they discovered from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what seemed to be "a dark shade 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 additionally released a security picture of a maroon minivan they mentioned the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia mentioned the capturing on the salon is perhaps linked to one that happened a day before and one that took place last month.

Police realized from witness stories that on April 2, a driver in a pink minivan drove previous a strip mall of Asian-run businesses and fired shots at three companies. Nobody 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 Avenue, police said.

“Out of an abundance of warning, we've got reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the potential connection and ask for their help,” Garcia mentioned. “This includes the FBI and member businesses of the Joint Terrorism Process Pressure. We're additionally working with North Texas police companions to find out if this felony motion has or is taking place of their jurisdictions.”

Hair World Salon in Dallas, Might 12, 2022. A man opened fireplace contained in the hair salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three individuals.

Garcia said police will likely be rising the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas in the city where there are massive Asian American populations.

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

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

ABC's Jim Ryan stories:

ABC News' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.