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

The incident could also be related to shootings at Asian-run companies, police mentioned.

17 Could 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in connection with the Could 11 taking pictures of three ladies in a hair salon within the metropolis's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and could possibly be linked to a series of latest shootings at Asian-run companies within the city, police stated.

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

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

"Throughout our investigation, detectives realized that two years ago Smith had a motorized vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia mentioned. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he is around anybody of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Subject Workplace, the U.S. Lawyer’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 discipline office in Dallas informed ABC News on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to completely examine this incident. As this is an ongoing investigation, we're not capable of remark further at this time."

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

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

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

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia introduced throughout a Friday press conference that regulation enforcement “concluded three latest shootings of Asian run companies may be connected.” The suspect in every incident was driving a similar vehicle.

This picture reveals the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are looking for a person who opened fireplace inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three folks.

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

Police also launched a safety image of a maroon minivan they stated the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia mentioned the shooting at the salon is likely to be linked to one that occurred a day earlier than and one that took place final month.

Police realized from witness reports that on April 2, a driver in a purple minivan drove previous a strip mall of Asian-run companies and fired shots at three companies. Nobody 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 Road, police stated.

“Out of an abundance of warning, we have reached out to our companions to make them aware of the doable connection and ask for their assistance,” Garcia said. “This includes the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Task Power. We're additionally working with North Texas police partners to determine if this legal action has or is happening of their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia mentioned police will probably be growing the presence of high visibility patrol officers in areas in the metropolis where there are giant Asian American populations.

“We're turning to every resident of the city of Dallas to keep a watch out and safeguard our metropolis,” Garcia said. “Hate has no place here.”

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

ABC's Jim Ryan studies:

ABC Information' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.