Suspect in Dallas salon shooting indicted on hate crime charges among others

The suspect in the May shootings at a Dallas hair salon that injured three Asian female victims was indicted on Tuesday on hate crime charges, among several others. 

The alleged gunman, 37-year old Jeremy Smith, has been charged with seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, with hate crime charges attached to each of the assault charges. The charges each carry a minimum of five years in prison, and up to 99 years. Smith allegedly chose to enter the salon specifically because of  “his bias or prejudice against Asian Americans,” according to the District Attorney’s statement. 

Smith’s girlfriend told authorities at the time of the shooting that Smith had “delusions” about Asian people ever since he had been involved in a car accident with an Asian man two years prior. She told police Smith had been admitted to several facilities in the past due to panic attacks and other delusions about people of Asian descent.

The Dallas salon shooting followed an incident in Atlanta in 2021 during which a gunman traveled to several area salons and killed six Asian women. The country has seen a disturbing uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic after the virus first appeared in China.

“We must bring attention to the hate that impacts all communities,” said Asian Americans Advancing Justice president John C. Yang to NBC earlier this year. “The support of our allies representing diverse communities of color and diverse faith communities has meant a great deal as our Asian American communities have been under attack. All of our diverse communities, including LGBTQ+ communities, have experienced hate, and there is a profound but tragic solidarity in that.”

Jeremy Smith remains in county jail in Dallas and is being held on $700,000 bond.