Suspect identified in Dallas salon shooting as FBI opens hate crime investigation

The incident may be related to shootings at Asian-run businesses, police stated.

17 Might 2022, 21:08

• 7 min learn

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the Might 11 shooting 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 series of latest shootings at Asian-run businesses in the city, police mentioned.

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 have been transported to a neighborhood hospital, based on police.

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

"Throughout our investigation, detectives discovered that two years ago Smith had a motorcar crash with an Asian male," Garcia mentioned. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic assaults and delusions when he's around anybody of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Discipline Office, 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 field workplace in Dallas instructed ABC Information on Monday. "We're in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to completely examine this incident. As this is an ongoing investigation, we're not able to remark further at the moment."

Police met with group members at a town corridor in Koreatown on Monday amid concerns for the public's safety.

Two of the shooting victims – the owner and an employee – had been present on the meeting, in response to WFAA. The worker spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face covered. The women did not reveal their names.

Garcia mentioned that police proceed to research two different shootings which may be linked to the salon shooting.

"At the moment, 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 convention that law enforcement “concluded three recent shootings of Asian run companies could also be connected.” The suspect in each incident was driving an identical vehicle.

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

Police said they learned from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what gave the impression to be "a darkish color minivan-type automobile" on Royal Lane after which walked throughout the car parking zone and into the institution, allegedly opening fireplace as soon as he entered the salon.

Police additionally launched a security picture of a maroon minivan they mentioned the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia mentioned the taking pictures on the salon could be linked to 1 that occurred a day before and one which happened last month.

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

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

“Out of an abundance of caution, now we have reached out to our companions to make them aware of the attainable connection and ask for his or her assistance,” Garcia stated. “This consists of the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Task Power. We're also working with North Texas police partners to find out if this criminal action has or is going down of their jurisdictions.”

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

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

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

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

ABC's Jim Ryan stories:

ABC News' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.