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

The incident may be linked 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 May 11 taking pictures of three girls in a hair salon within the metropolis's Koreatown. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime and could be linked to a sequence of current shootings at Asian-run companies within the city, police stated.

The victims, the salon owner, an worker and a buyer, are all Korean, according to ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas. The ladies suffered nonfatal injuries and had been transported to a neighborhood hospital, in response to police.

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

"Throughout our investigation, detectives learned that two years ago Smith had a motorcar crash with an Asian male," Garcia stated. "Since this crash, Smith has had panic attacks 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 subject office in Dallas informed ABC Information on Monday. "We are in close communication with Dallas Police and are partnering together to completely examine this incident. As that is an ongoing investigation, we're not able to comment additional at the moment."

Police met with neighborhood members at a town 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, according to WFAA. The worker spoke with the help of an interpreter and her was face covered. The women did not reveal their names.

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

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

The arrest comes days after Garcia introduced during a Friday press convention that regulation enforcement “concluded three recent shootings of Asian run companies could also be connected.” The suspect in every incident was driving the same vehicle.

This picture reveals the inside of Hair World Salon in Dallas on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Police are in search of a person who opened hearth contained in the salon in Dallas' Koreatown area, wounding three individuals.

Police stated they learned from a witness report that an unknown Black male parked in what gave the impression to be "a darkish shade minivan-type car" on Royal Lane after which walked throughout the parking lot and into the institution, allegedly opening fire 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 said the taking pictures at the salon could be linked to 1 that occurred a day earlier than and one that passed off last month.

Police learned from witness experiences that on April 2, a driver in a pink minivan drove previous a strip mall of Asian-run companies and fired pictures at three companies. Nobody was injured.

And on Might 10, a suspect in a burgundy van or automobile drove by and shot into Asian-run companies near 4849 Sunnyvale Road, police stated.

“Out of an abundance of warning, we have reached out to our companions to make them conscious of the doable connection and ask for their help,” Garcia stated. “This consists of the FBI and member businesses of the Joint Terrorism Job Drive. We're additionally working with North Texas police partners to determine if this legal action has or is going down of their jurisdictions.”

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

Garcia mentioned police shall be growing the presence of excessive visibility patrol officers in areas in the city the place there are large Asian American populations.

“We are turning to every resident of the town of Dallas to keep an eye fixed out and safeguard our metropolis,” Garcia said. “Hate has no place right here.”

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

ABC's Jim Ryan experiences:

ABC Information' Bill Hutchinson and contributed to this report.