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

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

17 Could 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

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

The victims, the salon proprietor, an employee and a customer, are all Korean, in accordance with ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal injuries and had been transported to a neighborhood hospital, in line with 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 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 Division and the FBI are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

"The Dallas FBI Field Office, the U.S. Attorney’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 area office in Dallas advised ABC Information on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to completely investigate this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we're not in a position to remark additional right now."

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

Two of the shooting victims – the owner and an employee – were present at the assembly, in accordance with WFAA. The worker spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face coated. The ladies did not reveal their names.

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

"At this time, there have been no arrests on those circumstances," 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 latest shootings of Asian run businesses may be connected.” The suspect in every incident was driving an analogous vehicle.

This picture shows the inside of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Police are on the lookout for a man who opened fire inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three folks.

Police mentioned they realized from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what appeared to be "a dark shade minivan-type automobile" on Royal Lane after which walked throughout the parking zone and into the institution, allegedly opening fire as soon as he entered the salon.

Police also released a safety image of a maroon minivan they said the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia stated the capturing at the salon could be linked to at least one that occurred a day earlier than and one which took place last month.

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

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

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have now reached out to our companions to make them aware of the attainable connection and ask for their help,” Garcia stated. “This contains the FBI and member businesses of the Joint Terrorism Process Pressure. We're additionally working with North Texas police companions to find out if this prison motion has or is taking place in their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia mentioned police will be growing the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas within the metropolis the place there are massive Asian American populations.

“We are turning to every resident of town of Dallas to keep an eye out and safeguard our city,” Garcia said. “Hate has no place here.”

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

ABC's Jim Ryan experiences:

ABC Information' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.