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

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

17 May 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in connection with the Might 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 collection of latest shootings at Asian-run companies within the city, police said.

The victims, the salon proprietor, an worker and a customer, are all Korean, in keeping with ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The ladies suffered nonfatal accidents and had been transported to an area hospital, in response to police.

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

"Throughout our investigation, detectives discovered 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 is around anybody of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Discipline Office, the U.S. Lawyer’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 News on Monday. "We're in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to totally investigate this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we're not able to comment additional at the moment."

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

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

Garcia said that police continue to analyze two other shootings that may be linked to the salon capturing.

"At this time, there have been no arrests on these circumstances," Garcia said, including that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced throughout a Friday press conference that regulation enforcement “concluded three recent shootings of Asian run businesses could also be connected.” The suspect in every incident was driving a similar car.

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

Police said 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 after which walked across the parking zone and into the institution, allegedly opening fire as soon as he entered the salon.

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

Garcia said the shooting at the salon could be linked to one that occurred a day earlier than and one that came about final month.

Police discovered from witness stories that on April 2, a driver in a red minivan drove past a strip mall of Asian-run companies and fired pictures at three businesses. Nobody 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 Street, police mentioned.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we've got reached out to our partners to make them aware of the possible connection and ask for their help,” Garcia said. “This includes the FBI and member businesses of the Joint Terrorism Activity Drive. We're also working with North Texas police partners to find out if this prison motion has or is happening of their jurisdictions.”

Hair World Salon in Dallas, Might 12, 2022. A person opened hearth inside the hair salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three folks.

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

“We're turning to each resident of the city of Dallas to maintain an eye out and safeguard our metropolis,” Garcia mentioned. “Hate has no place right here.”

These incidents in Dallas come amid a spate of attacks targeting Asian People across the nation, which spiked through the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Jim Ryan experiences:

ABC Information' Invoice Hutchinson and contributed to this report.