Police in the U.S. state of Texas said a man suspected of opening fire and wounding three Korean women in a hair salon in Dallas last week was delusional about Asians as the FBI is investigating the shooting as a hate crime.
According to Reuters, Dallas police booked the 36-year-old suspect, Jeremy Smith, on Tuesday and charged him with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
The police said he fired 13 shots into the Koreatown hair salon on Wednesday of last week. The three women shot reportedly sustained non-life threatening injuries and were being treated at a hospital.
Dallas police chief Eddie Garcia said Smith harbored delusions about Asians since experiencing a car crash involving an Asian man two years ago. According to National Public Radio, Garcia previously ruled out the possibility that the suspect, an African American, was motivated by his hate against another racial group.
The Dallas police said the shooting may also be linked to two other shootings at Asian businesses in the city, adding that a related investigation is underway.