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

The incident could also be linked to shootings at Asian-run companies, police stated.

17 May 2022, 21:08

• 7 min learn

Dallas police arrested a suspect in reference to the Could 11 taking pictures of three ladies 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 recent shootings at Asian-run businesses within the city, police said.

The victims, the salon proprietor, an employee and a buyer, are all Korean, in response to ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The women suffered nonfatal injuries and were transported to an area hospital, in accordance with 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 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 attacks and delusions when he's around anyone 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 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 advised ABC News on Monday. "We're in shut communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to totally examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to comment additional at this time."

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

Two of the capturing victims – the owner and an worker – have been current at the meeting, based on WFAA. The worker spoke with the assistance of an interpreter and her was face covered. The ladies did not reveal their names.

Garcia stated that police proceed to research two other shootings which may be linked to the salon capturing.

"Presently, there have been no arrests on those instances," Garcia said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

The arrest comes days after Garcia announced during a Friday press conference that regulation enforcement “concluded three recent shootings of Asian run businesses could also be connected.” The suspect in each incident was driving the same automobile.

This picture reveals the inside of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, Might 12, 2022. Police are searching for a person who opened fire inside the salon in Dallas' Koreatown space, wounding three individuals.

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

Police also released a security picture of a maroon minivan they stated the shooter fled the scene in.

Garcia mentioned the capturing on the salon might be linked to one that happened a day before and one that befell last month.

Police realized from witness experiences that on April 2, a driver in a crimson minivan drove previous a strip mall of Asian-run businesses and fired shots at three companies. No one was injured.

And on Might 10, a suspect in a burgundy van or car drove by and shot into Asian-run companies close to 4849 Sunnyvale Avenue, police said.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have reached out to our companions to make them aware of the possible connection and ask for his or her help,” Garcia said. “This contains the FBI and member agencies of the Joint Terrorism Activity Force. We're also working with North Texas police companions to find out if this criminal action has or is going down in 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 shall be rising the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas within the city the place there are massive Asian American populations.

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

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

ABC's Jim Ryan stories:

ABC News' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.