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

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

17 Might 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the May 11 shooting of three girls in a hair salon within the metropolis's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and might be linked to a collection of latest shootings at Asian-run companies within the metropolis, police mentioned.

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

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

"During our investigation, detectives realized that two years in the past Smith had a motorized vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia mentioned. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he's round 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. Legal professional’s Office 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 instructed ABC News on Monday. "We're in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to completely investigate this incident. As this is an ongoing investigation, we aren't in a position to comment additional at this time."

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

Two of the taking pictures victims – the proprietor and an employee – have been present on the assembly, in accordance with WFAA. The worker spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face covered. The women did not reveal their names.

Garcia stated that police continue to research two other shootings that may be linked to the salon shooting.

"Presently, there have been no arrests on these cases," Garcia said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced during a Friday press convention that law enforcement “concluded three latest shootings of Asian run businesses may be connected.” The suspect in every incident was driving an identical vehicle.

This photograph reveals the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Might 12, 2022. Police are on the lookout for a person who opened fireplace contained in the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three people.

Police stated they discovered from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what gave the impression to be "a dark color minivan-type automobile" on Royal Lane and then walked throughout the car parking zone and into the establishment, allegedly opening fire as quickly as he entered the salon.

Police also launched a security picture of a maroon minivan they stated the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia stated the taking pictures at the salon may be linked to one that occurred a day earlier than and one which befell final month.

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

And on Might 10, a suspect in a burgundy van or automobile drove by and shot into Asian-run businesses near 4849 Sunnyvale Street, police mentioned.

“Out of an abundance of warning, we have reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the doable connection and ask for their assistance,” Garcia stated. “This contains the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Job Pressure. We're additionally working with North Texas police companions to find out if this legal motion has or is going down of their jurisdictions.”

Hair World Salon in Dallas, Could 12, 2022. A person opened fireplace contained in the hair salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three individuals.

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

“We're turning to each resident of the town of Dallas to maintain a watch out and safeguard our city,” Garcia mentioned. “Hate has no place here.”

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

ABC's Jim Ryan reviews:

ABC News' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.