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

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

17 Might 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 in the metropolis's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and could be linked to a collection of recent shootings at Asian-run businesses in the metropolis, police stated.

The victims, the salon owner, an employee and a customer, are all Korean, according to ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal injuries and were transported to an area hospital, in response to police.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia identified the suspect as 36-year-old Jeremy Smith during a press conference on Tuesday. Garcia said that Smith was charged with three counts of aggravated assault.

"Throughout our investigation, detectives learned that two years in the past Smith had a motorized vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia said. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he's round anyone 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 Department of Justice have opened a federal hate crime investigation into the incident at Hair World Salon in Dallas,” a spokesperson for the FBI subject office in Dallas instructed ABC Information on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to completely examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to comment further right now."

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

Two of the shooting victims – the proprietor and an worker – were present on the assembly, in line with WFAA. The employee spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face covered. The ladies did not reveal their names.

Garcia stated that police continue to investigate two different shootings that could be linked to the salon taking pictures.

"Presently, there have been no arrests on those instances," Garcia mentioned, including that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia introduced throughout a Friday press convention that law enforcement “concluded three recent shootings of Asian run companies may be connected.” The suspect in every incident was driving an analogous vehicle.

This photo reveals the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Might 12, 2022. Police are looking for a man who opened fire contained in the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three people.

Police stated they realized from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what seemed to be "a darkish shade minivan-type car" on Royal Lane and then walked throughout the parking zone and into the establishment, allegedly opening hearth as soon as he entered the salon.

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

Garcia mentioned the shooting on the salon may be linked to at least one that occurred a day before and one which occurred last month.

Police discovered from witness experiences that on April 2, a driver in a crimson minivan drove past a strip mall of Asian-run businesses and fired shots at three businesses. Nobody was injured.

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

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have reached out to our partners to make them conscious of the possible connection and ask for their help,” Garcia stated. “This contains the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Task Pressure. We are also working with North Texas police partners to find out if this criminal action has or is happening in 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 folks.

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

“We are turning to each resident of the city of Dallas to keep 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 through the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Jim Ryan reports:

ABC News' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.