DALLAS — A shooting that injured three women in a hair salon in the city’s Koreatown might have been a hate crime, Dallas’ police chief said Friday as he announced that it could be connected to two other shootings at businesses run by Asian Americans.
Chief Eddie Garcia had previously said police didn’t have any indication the shooting Wednesday at Hair World Salon was motivated by hate, but he said that had changed as of Friday afternoon.
“The possibility that we are dealing with a violent gunman who is motivated by hate is chilling and deeply disturbing,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement Friday.
Authorities are still searching for a man dressed all in black who opened fire at the salon, then drove off in a maroon minivan. The victims were taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.
Garcia said investigators found that a similar vehicle was reported to be involved in two other recent shootings, including an April 2 drive-by in the area where the salon is located. No one was injured in either of those shootings.
“We are turning to every resident of the city of Dallas to keep an eye out and safeguard our city,” Garcia said. “Hate has no place here.” “We need to get this person in custody,” Garcia said.
He said the vehicle was also linked to a drive-by shooting that occurred Tuesday about 25 miles southeast of the shopping center where Wednesday’s shooting happened.
Garcia said police would be increasing patrols and they were reaching out to other police departments in North Texas to see if there have been any similar incidents in their area. He said Dallas police have also reached out to the FBI to let them know of the possible connection.
John Jun, a founding member of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Korean American Coalition, said he’d hoped that the shooting at the salon, which is in the heart of Koreatown, was an isolated incident.
“Now, we’re a little more concerned because it seems like they are targeting for sure Asian Americans and most likely Korean American businesses in the area,” Jun said. “The people are obviously shaken and they are on the edge right now.”