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

The incident could also be related to shootings at Asian-run businesses, police mentioned.

17 Might 2022, 21:08

• 7 min learn

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the Could 11 taking pictures of three girls in a hair salon within the city's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and could possibly be linked to a sequence of latest shootings at Asian-run businesses in the city, police stated.

The victims, the salon owner, an worker and a buyer, are all Korean, in keeping with ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal accidents and have been transported to a neighborhood hospital, in response to police.

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

"Throughout our investigation, detectives discovered that two years ago Smith had a motor vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia said. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he is around anyone of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Field Office, the U.S. Attorney’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 discipline workplace in Dallas instructed ABC News on Monday. "We're in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to completely examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to remark further at this time."

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

Two of the taking pictures victims – the owner and an employee – had been current on the meeting, according to WFAA. The worker spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face lined. The women did not reveal their names.

Garcia mentioned that police continue to research two other shootings that could be linked to the salon taking pictures.

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced during 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 an analogous vehicle.

This photo exhibits the inside 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 area, wounding three individuals.

Police mentioned they discovered from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what seemed to be "a darkish color minivan-type vehicle" on Royal Lane and then walked across the parking zone and into the establishment, allegedly opening fireplace as soon as he entered the salon.

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

Garcia said the shooting on the salon is perhaps linked to 1 that occurred a day before and one that occurred final month.

Police discovered from witness studies that on April 2, a driver in a purple minivan drove previous a strip mall of Asian-run businesses and fired pictures at three businesses. Nobody was injured.

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

“Out of an abundance of caution, we now have reached out to our partners to make them aware of the doable connection and ask for their assistance,” Garcia mentioned. “This contains the FBI and member businesses of the Joint Terrorism Job Drive. We're also working with North Texas police partners to determine if this felony motion has or is going down of their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia mentioned police will likely be increasing the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas in the metropolis the place there are giant Asian American populations.

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

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

ABC's Jim Ryan experiences:

ABC Information' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.