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

The incident may be connected to shootings at Asian-run companies, police mentioned.

17 Might 2022, 21:08

• 7 min learn

Dallas police arrested a suspect in connection with the Could 11 taking pictures of three women in a hair salon in the city's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and may very well be linked to a series of latest shootings at Asian-run businesses in the metropolis, police mentioned.

The victims, the salon owner, an worker and a buyer, are all Korean, in keeping with ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The ladies suffered nonfatal accidents 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 mentioned that Smith was charged with three counts of aggravated assault.

"Throughout our investigation, detectives realized that two years in the past Smith had a motorcar crash with an Asian male," Garcia stated. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he is round anybody 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. Lawyer’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 subject workplace in Dallas instructed ABC Information on Monday. "We are in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to thoroughly examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we aren't able to remark additional at the moment."

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

Two of the taking pictures victims – the owner and an worker – had been current on the assembly, based on WFAA. The worker spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face lined. The ladies didn't reveal their names.

Garcia mentioned that police continue to analyze two different shootings that could be linked to the salon capturing.

"Presently, 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 legislation enforcement “concluded three recent shootings of Asian run businesses could also be linked.” The suspect in each incident was driving an identical vehicle.

This photo exhibits the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Police are searching for a person who opened hearth inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three individuals.

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

Police also launched a security image of a maroon minivan they mentioned the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia said the capturing on the salon is perhaps linked to one that occurred a day earlier than and one that happened final month.

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

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

“Out of an abundance of caution, we now have reached out to our companions to make them aware of the attainable connection and ask for his or her help,” Garcia stated. “This consists of the FBI and member companies of the Joint Terrorism Activity Force. We're additionally working with North Texas police companions to determine if this legal action has or is going down in their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia stated police will probably be rising the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas in the metropolis where there are massive Asian American populations.

“We're turning to each resident of town of Dallas to keep a watch out and safeguard our city,” Garcia stated. “Hate has no place here.”

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

ABC's Jim Ryan studies:

ABC News' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.