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

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

17 May 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the May 11 taking pictures of three women in a hair salon within the metropolis's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and might be linked to a sequence of recent shootings at Asian-run companies in the city, police said.

The victims, the salon owner, an worker and a customer, are all Korean, in keeping with ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The ladies suffered nonfatal injuries and had been transported to a local hospital, based on police.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia identified 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 motorized vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia stated. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic assaults and delusions when he's round anybody of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Subject Office, the U.S. Attorney’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 area workplace in Dallas instructed ABC Information on Monday. "We're in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to thoroughly investigate this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to remark additional at the moment."

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

Two of the taking pictures victims – the owner and an employee – had been present on the assembly, in line with WFAA. The employee spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face covered. The women didn't reveal their names.

Garcia said that police continue to research two other shootings which may be linked to the salon taking pictures.

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced throughout a Friday press conference that law enforcement “concluded three recent shootings of Asian run businesses may be linked.” The suspect in every incident was driving a similar automobile.

This photo shows the inside of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are in search of a person who opened hearth inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three people.

Police mentioned they learned from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what appeared to be "a darkish coloration minivan-type vehicle" on Royal Lane after which walked across the parking lot and into the establishment, allegedly opening fireplace as soon as he entered the salon.

Police also released a security image of a maroon minivan they stated the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia mentioned the capturing at the salon is perhaps linked to at least one that occurred a day before and one which happened final month.

Police learned from witness reports that on April 2, a driver in a crimson minivan drove past a strip mall of Asian-run companies and fired photographs at three businesses. No one was injured.

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

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have reached out to our companions 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 Process Drive. We are also working with North Texas police companions to determine if this criminal action has or is happening of their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia mentioned police shall be rising the presence of high visibility patrol officers in areas within the metropolis where there are large Asian American populations.

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

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

ABC's Jim Ryan experiences:

ABC Information' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.