"US Dallas Koreatown Shooter, Delusional"...FBI Investigates 'Hate Crime'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on the 17th (local time) that it has launched a hate crime investigation into the shooting incident that occurred at a beauty salon in Dallas Koreatown, Texas. The investigative authorities stated that the shooter was obsessed with delusions of persecution against Asians.

According to the Associated Press and others, Melinda Albina, Dallas FBI spokesperson, announced that they have started a joint investigation with the Northern District of Texas Prosecutor's Office and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division targeting the 36-year-old Black male suspect Jeremy Serran Smith, who was arrested that day.

In the shooting incident that occurred on the 11th at a beauty salon in Dallas Koreatown shopping district, three Korean women including the owner, employees, and customers were injured. At the time, Smith walked into the salon, shouted something, fired 13 shots, and fled in a minivan.

Police Chief Eddie Garcia stated at a briefing that "Smith harbored delusions and attacked (Asians) in a panic when Asian people were around." The Associated Press also reported, citing statements from Smith's girlfriend to the police, that Smith has been delusional that Asians intend to harm him since he was involved in a car accident with an Asian man two years ago.

The police are considering the possibility that two recent shootings targeting Asian-owned stores in Dallas may be connected to this incident.

Recently, shooting incidents related to hate crimes have been occurring one after another in the United States. On the 14th, at a supermarket in a Black residential area in Buffalo, New York, a white supremacist teenager opened fire, killing 10 Black people.