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

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

17 Could 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the May 11 capturing of three girls in a hair salon within the city'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 in the city, police stated.

The victims, the salon owner, an worker and a buyer, are all Korean, based on ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal injuries and have been transported to a neighborhood hospital, in response to police.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia identified 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.

"Throughout our investigation, detectives discovered that two years ago Smith had a motorized vehicle 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 Discipline Office, 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 area office in Dallas instructed ABC News on Monday. "We're in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to totally examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to remark additional at this time."

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

Two of the taking pictures victims – the owner and an employee – have been present on the assembly, in line with WFAA. The employee spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face lined. The women didn't reveal their names.

Garcia mentioned that police continue to investigate two other shootings that may be linked to the salon capturing.

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

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

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

Police mentioned they discovered from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what gave the impression to be "a darkish colour minivan-type car" on Royal Lane and then walked across the parking zone and into the institution, allegedly opening fireplace 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 said the shooting at the salon might be linked to at least one that occurred a day earlier than and one that came about final month.

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

And on Might 10, a suspect in a burgundy van or car drove by and shot into Asian-run companies near 4849 Sunnyvale Avenue, police mentioned.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we now have reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the possible connection and ask for their help,” Garcia said. “This contains the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Task Power. We're additionally working with North Texas police partners to determine if this criminal action has or is going down of their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia mentioned police might be rising the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas in the city where there are giant Asian American populations.

“We are turning to each resident of the town of Dallas to maintain 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 reports:

ABC Information' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.