▲ Korean hair salon in Dallas, where the shooting took place


The recent shooting at a Korean hairdresser in Dallas, Texas, is highly likely to be a serial hate crime targeting Asian stores, local police said.



The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 14th (local time) that Dallas Police Commissioner Eddie Garcia met with reporters the day before and said, "When we first investigated, there were no clues suggesting that it was a hate crime, but things have changed since this afternoon. There may be hate relevance. There is,” he said.



Police weighted the possibility of a hate crime after they confirmed that similar vehicles were seen in other recent incidents of nearby Asian stores.



Prior to the incident on the afternoon of the 12th, a black man in a black dress broke into a hairdressing salon in Koreatown, northern Dallas, with a long gun, and shot three Korean women and then fled in a maroon minivan. The incident was reported, police explained.



Also, on the 2nd of last month, when a shooting at an Asian store located in the same block as a Korean hair salon, a 'red minivan' was used, and on the 10th, the day before the shooting at the hair salon, a 'red car or minivan' was used at the scene. have been witnessed.



In both shootings, there were no injuries in the minivans where they shot into the store and then fled.



Dallas police are working with other agencies, including the FBI, to determine whether there are other similar incidents, with all three shootings likely being a chain attack targeting Asian-run stores.



The police identified a black male with a beard and a skinny build of 170 to 178 cm in height as the suspect and asked for information from citizens.



"Hate has no place here," said Garcia Police Commissioner, adding that patrols have been increased in areas where Asians live.



Dallas has a population of 48,278 from the Asia-Pacific region, or 4% of the total population.



As crimes against Asians have increased since COVID-19, the Dallas Police have teamed up with officers who can speak Korean and Vietnamese to respond to hate crimes, but they still believe that many crimes against Asians are not reported.



(Photo=AP, Yonhap News)