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

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

17 Might 2022, 21:08

• 7 min learn

Dallas police arrested a suspect in connection with the May 11 capturing of three women in a hair salon within the city's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and might be linked to a series of latest shootings at Asian-run businesses within the metropolis, police said.

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

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

"During our investigation, detectives learned that two years in the past Smith had a motorized vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia mentioned. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic assaults and delusions when he's round anyone of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Field Workplace, the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace 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 workplace in Dallas told ABC News on Monday. "We're in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to totally examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we aren't able to comment additional at the moment."

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

Two of the capturing victims – the owner and an worker – were present on the assembly, in accordance with WFAA. The worker spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face covered. The women did not reveal their names.

Garcia stated that police proceed to research two different shootings which may be linked to the salon taking pictures.

"Presently, there have been no arrests on these cases," Garcia stated, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

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

This photograph reveals the inside of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are in search of a man who opened fire inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three folks.

Police stated they learned from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what seemed to be "a dark colour minivan-type automobile" on Royal Lane and then walked across the car parking zone and into the institution, allegedly opening fire as soon as he entered the salon.

Police also released a security picture of a maroon minivan they mentioned the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia mentioned the shooting at the salon might be linked to 1 that happened a day before and one which happened last month.

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

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

“Out of an abundance of caution, we now have reached out to our partners to make them conscious of the attainable connection and ask for their assistance,” Garcia mentioned. “This includes the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Task Force. We are additionally working with North Texas police partners to determine if this felony action has or is happening in their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia stated police can be growing the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas within the metropolis where there are large Asian American populations.

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

These incidents in Dallas come amid a spate of assaults targeting Asian Individuals across the nation, which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Jim Ryan reports:

ABC Information' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.