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

The incident could also be related to shootings at Asian-run companies, police stated.

17 May 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the Might 11 shooting of three ladies in a hair salon in the metropolis's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and could be linked to a sequence of recent shootings at Asian-run companies in the metropolis, police said.

The victims, the salon proprietor, an employee and a customer, are all Korean, based on ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women 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 throughout 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 ago Smith had a motor vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia stated. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he is 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. Legal professional’s Workplace 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 discipline workplace in Dallas advised ABC Information on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to thoroughly examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we're not in a position to comment additional at the moment."

Police met with neighborhood members at a city corridor in Koreatown on Monday amid considerations for the public's safety.

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

Garcia stated that police proceed to investigate two different shootings that could be linked to the salon capturing.

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia introduced throughout a Friday press conference that legislation enforcement “concluded three current shootings of Asian run businesses could also be linked.” The suspect in each incident was driving a similar vehicle.

This photograph reveals the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are searching for a man who opened hearth inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three people.

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

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

Garcia said the shooting on the salon could be linked to 1 that happened a day earlier than and one that happened last month.

Police realized from witness reviews that on April 2, a driver in a pink minivan drove past a strip mall of Asian-run businesses and fired pictures 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 near 4849 Sunnyvale Road, police mentioned.

“Out of an abundance of warning, we've reached out to our partners to make them conscious of the possible connection and ask for their help,” Garcia stated. “This includes the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Job Pressure. We are additionally working with North Texas police companions to find out if this criminal motion has or is taking place in their jurisdictions.”

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

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

“We are turning to each resident of the town of Dallas to keep an eye out and safeguard our metropolis,” Garcia stated. “Hate has no place here.”

These incidents in Dallas come amid a spate of assaults focusing on Asian Americans throughout the nation, which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Jim Ryan experiences:

ABC Information' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.