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

The incident may be linked 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 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 owner, an worker and a customer, are all Korean, based on ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal injuries and had been transported to a neighborhood hospital, in accordance with police.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia identified the suspect as 36-year-old Jeremy Smith during a press conference on Tuesday. Garcia stated 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 said. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks and delusions when he is round anybody of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Area Workplace, the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace 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 subject office in Dallas informed ABC Information on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to completely investigate this incident. As this is an ongoing investigation, we aren't able to comment further right now."

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

Two of the shooting victims – the owner and an worker – had been present at the assembly, according to WFAA. The employee spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face coated. The ladies didn't reveal their names.

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

"Right now, there have been no arrests on those cases," Garcia stated, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced during a Friday press convention that law enforcement “concluded three current shootings of Asian run companies could also be connected.” The suspect in each incident was driving an identical vehicle.

This picture shows the interior of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Could 12, 2022. Police are in search of a person who opened fire inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three individuals.

Police mentioned they discovered from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what gave the impression to be "a dark shade minivan-type vehicle" on Royal Lane after which walked across the parking lot and into the establishment, allegedly opening hearth as quickly as he entered the salon.

Police additionally released a safety picture of a maroon minivan they said the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia said the shooting on the salon is likely to be linked to one that occurred a day before and one which took place final month.

Police learned from witness studies that on April 2, a driver in a purple minivan drove previous 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 automotive drove by and shot into Asian-run businesses close to 4849 Sunnyvale Avenue, police said.

“Out of an abundance of warning, we have now reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the potential connection and ask for their help,” Garcia stated. “This includes the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Job Pressure. We are additionally working with North Texas police partners to determine if this criminal motion has or is taking place of their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia said police will be increasing the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas in the metropolis where there are massive Asian American populations.

“We're turning to each resident of the city of Dallas to keep 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 Individuals throughout the nation, which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Jim Ryan studies:

ABC News' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.