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

The incident may be connected to shootings at Asian-run businesses, police stated.

17 Might 2022, 21:08

• 7 min read

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the Might 11 capturing of three girls in a hair salon in the city's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and may very well be linked to a series of latest shootings at Asian-run businesses in the metropolis, police mentioned.

The victims, the salon owner, an worker and a buyer, 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 keeping with police.

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

"During our investigation, detectives discovered that two years ago Smith had a motorcar crash with an Asian male," Garcia mentioned. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic assaults and delusions when he is round anybody of Asian descent."

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

"The Dallas FBI Field Workplace, the U.S. Attorney’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're in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to completely investigate this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we aren't in a position to comment further presently."

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

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

Garcia mentioned that police proceed to investigate two other shootings that may be linked to the salon capturing.

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia introduced throughout a Friday press convention that legislation enforcement “concluded three latest shootings of Asian run companies may be related.” The suspect in every incident was driving an analogous automobile.

This photo shows the inside of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Police are looking for a person who opened hearth inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three people.

Police stated they realized from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what appeared to be "a dark shade minivan-type car" on Royal Lane and then walked throughout the parking zone and into the establishment, allegedly opening hearth as quickly as he entered the salon.

Police additionally released a security image of a maroon minivan they mentioned the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia stated the taking pictures at the salon might be linked to at least one that happened a day earlier than and one that came about final month.

Police realized 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 companies near 4849 Sunnyvale Avenue, police stated.

“Out of an abundance of warning, we now have reached out to our partners to make them aware of the potential connection and ask for his or her assistance,” Garcia mentioned. “This contains the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Process Drive. We're additionally working with North Texas police partners to find out if this legal action has or is going down in their jurisdictions.”

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

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

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

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

ABC's Jim Ryan reports:

ABC News' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.