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

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

17 Could 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in connection with the May 11 taking pictures of three ladies in a hair salon in the city's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and might be linked to a sequence of recent shootings at Asian-run businesses within the metropolis, police mentioned.

The victims, the salon proprietor, an employee and a customer, are all Korean, in line with ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The ladies suffered nonfatal injuries and were transported to a local hospital, according to police.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia recognized the suspect as 36-year-old Jeremy Smith during a press conference 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 motor vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia said. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic assaults and delusions when he is around anyone of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Field 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 workplace in Dallas instructed ABC Information on Monday. "We're in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to totally examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we aren't capable of remark further right now."

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

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

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

"At the moment, there have been no arrests on these cases," Garcia mentioned, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced during a Friday press convention that legislation enforcement “concluded three latest shootings of Asian run businesses may be linked.” The suspect in each incident was driving an analogous car.

This photo shows the inside of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Might 12, 2022. Police are in search of a person who opened fireplace contained in the salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three folks.

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

Police additionally launched a safety image of a maroon minivan they stated the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia mentioned the taking pictures on the salon is perhaps linked to 1 that occurred a day before and one that occurred last month.

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

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

“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 businesses of the Joint Terrorism Activity Drive. We're also working with North Texas police partners to find out if this legal motion has or is going down of their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia said police will likely be rising the presence of high visibility patrol officers in areas within the city the place there are giant Asian American populations.

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

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

ABC's Jim Ryan stories:

ABC Information' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.