FBI announces official hate crime probe into Dallas Koreatown hair salon shooting

The FBI says it’s officially launched a hate crime investigation related to the ambush shooting of three women inside a Northwest Dallas Asian-owned salon. Two of the three people shot in the salon last week arrived Monday evening at a packed town hall meeting with Dallas police.

DALLAS - The FBI says it's officially investigating a shooting at a Korean hair salon in Dallas as a hate crime.

Two of the three people shot in the salon off Royal Lane in the Koreatown shopping center last week arrived Monday evening at a packed town hall meeting with Dallas police.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia addressed the crowd personally but stopped short of announcing an arrest.

Police believe the same Black suspect is targeting Asian-owned businesses across Dallas.

The FBI says it’s officially launched a hate crime investigation related to the ambush shooting of three women inside the salon.

As some North Texans celebrate Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, some in the community are traumatized. More than 100 of them packed Dallas’ Korean Cultural Center Monday as Dallas police investigate three-separate shootings all targeting Asian-run businesses.

"I will say this: hate has no place in the city of Dallas. Hate has no place in this city," the police chief said.

Garcia says the investigation is heading in the right direction. And he says any cooperation from the community helps.

"The difference between my investigators being able to solve a case and not is the little fragments and tips and witness information that we get from our community," said Dallas Police Deputy Rueben Ramirez.

Last Wednesday, a man driving a maroon-colored minivan opened fire inside the Hair World Salon on Royal Lane and shot three Asian women.

Police say a man driving a very similar van opened fire on nearby businesses a month prior and fired at a Chinese restaurant in Oak Cliff just the day before.

All three women shot at the salon survived. Two of them came to Monday’s town hall, not wanting to show their faces on camera. One was shot in the foot. The other was shot in the arm.

John Jun, Vice-Chair of the Korean American Coalition DFW Chapter, says the community is taking extra precautions.

"Everyone is on edge," he said. "This is something that everyone should be concerned about: a random shooting in the daylight. Not just Korean-Americans. Not just Asian-Americans. But every community."

Others at the meeting would like to see law enforcement step up to better get to know his community.

"If you are truly representing us in this neighborhood, if you are truly here to help out safety, you need to understand," one person at the meeting said. "You need to know who the leaders are in this community. You need to know who the small business owners are who have been here for more than 40 years."

Monday’s meeting was an opportunity to bring everyone together.

"Know this: together, we are stronger. We cannot be divided," Garcia said.

Dallas police say they are confident their investigation will lead to an arrest but will not say if they have specific suspect info or if anyone is detained.