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

The incident may be related to shootings at Asian-run companies, police said.

17 Might 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 might be linked to a series of latest shootings at Asian-run businesses within the city, police stated.

The victims, the salon owner, 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 an area hospital, in response to police.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia recognized 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.

"During our investigation, detectives learned that two years in the past Smith had a motor vehicle crash with an Asian male," Garcia mentioned. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic assaults and delusions when he is round anyone of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Field Office, the U.S. Lawyer’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 workplace in Dallas informed ABC News on Monday. "We're in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering collectively to totally examine this incident. As this is an ongoing investigation, we're not able to comment additional at the moment."

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

Two of the capturing victims – the owner and an employee – had been current at the meeting, in keeping with WFAA. The worker spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face covered. The women did not reveal their names.

Garcia mentioned that police continue to research two other shootings which may be linked to the salon taking pictures.

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced throughout a Friday press convention that legislation enforcement “concluded three latest shootings of Asian run businesses could also be connected.” The suspect in each incident was driving a similar vehicle.

This picture shows the inside 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 individuals.

Police stated they realized from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what gave the impression to be "a darkish colour minivan-type automobile" on Royal Lane and then walked throughout the parking zone and into the establishment, allegedly opening hearth 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 on the salon is perhaps linked to at least one that happened a day before and one that came about final month.

Police discovered from witness stories that on April 2, a driver in a pink minivan drove past a strip mall of Asian-run companies and fired shots at three businesses. Nobody was injured.

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

“Out of an abundance of warning, now we have reached out to our partners to make them conscious of the doable connection and ask for their assistance,” Garcia said. “This consists of the FBI and member businesses of the Joint Terrorism Task Drive. We're also working with North Texas police partners to find out if this legal action has or is happening in their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia stated 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 town of Dallas to maintain an eye fixed out and safeguard our metropolis,” Garcia stated. “Hate has no place right here.”

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

ABC's Jim Ryan reports:

ABC News' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.