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

The incident may be related to shootings at Asian-run businesses, police mentioned.

17 May 2022, 21:08

• 7 min learn

Dallas police arrested a suspect in connection with the May 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 latest shootings at Asian-run businesses within the city, police mentioned.

The victims, the salon owner, an worker and a customer, are all Korean, in line with ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal accidents and had been transported to a local hospital, in keeping with police.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia recognized the suspect as 36-year-old Jeremy Smith throughout a press conference on Tuesday. Garcia mentioned 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's around anybody of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Area Workplace, the U.S. Legal professional’s Office 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 informed ABC News on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to completely investigate this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to remark additional at the moment."

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

Two of the taking pictures victims – the proprietor and an employee – have been current on the meeting, in accordance with WFAA. The worker spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face covered. The women didn't reveal their names.

Garcia stated that police continue to research two different shootings that could be linked to the salon capturing.

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

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

This picture shows the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are on the lookout for a person who opened fire contained in the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three people.

Police said they realized from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what appeared to be "a darkish coloration minivan-type car" on Royal Lane after which walked across the car parking zone and into the establishment, allegedly opening fireplace 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 said the capturing at the salon is likely to be linked to one that occurred a day earlier than and one which took place last month.

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

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

“Out of an abundance of caution, we've got reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the attainable connection and ask for their help,” Garcia said. “This includes the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Job Force. We're additionally working with North Texas police partners to determine if this felony motion has or is taking place of their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia stated police will be growing the presence of high visibility patrol officers in areas in the city where there are large Asian American populations.

“We're turning to every resident of town of Dallas to maintain an eye fixed out and safeguard our city,” Garcia stated. “Hate has no place here.”

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

ABC's Jim Ryan reports:

ABC Information' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.