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

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

17 Could 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

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 sequence of recent shootings at Asian-run companies within the metropolis, police said.

The victims, the salon proprietor, an employee and a customer, are all Korean, according to ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal accidents and had been transported to a neighborhood 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 stated that Smith was charged with three counts of aggravated assault.

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

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

"The Dallas FBI Subject Office, the U.S. Attorney’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 area workplace in Dallas informed ABC Information on Monday. "We're in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to completely examine this incident. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to comment additional at this time."

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

Two of the shooting victims – the owner and an employee – have been present at the meeting, in keeping with WFAA. The worker spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face lined. The ladies did not reveal their names.

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

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced during a Friday press conference that regulation enforcement “concluded three current shootings of Asian run businesses may be related.” The suspect in every incident was driving a similar car.

This photo exhibits the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are searching for a person who opened hearth inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three individuals.

Police stated 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 and then walked throughout the parking lot and into the establishment, allegedly opening fire as quickly as he entered the salon.

Police also launched a safety picture of a maroon minivan they said the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia stated the capturing at the salon could be linked to 1 that happened a day before and one that occurred final month.

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

And on Might 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've reached out to our companions to make them aware of the potential connection and ask for their help,” Garcia said. “This includes the FBI and member companies of the Joint Terrorism Activity Drive. We are also working with North Texas police companions to determine if this legal motion has or is taking place of their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia mentioned police shall be increasing the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas within the city where there are massive Asian American populations.

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

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

ABC's Jim Ryan studies:

ABC Information' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.