Dressed in all black, Jeremy Theron Smith parked on a northwest Dallas street known for its Korean-owned businesses and picked up his rifle. He entered Hair World Salon and began pulling the trigger, firing more than a dozen rounds at the women inside.
Then he was gone. His barrage of .22-caliber bullets hit three Korean-American women and missed four others in the shop that afternoon. All three injured women survived.
The May 11, 2022, shooting stoked fears in Dallas amid rising anti-Asian hate crimes across the nation largely fueled by conspiracy theories spread during the COVID-19 pandemic that suggested the virus was manufactured in China.
Smith’s arrest came days later after a witness provided a description of his van and the distinctive paper dealer tags on it.
Last week, the now 40-year-old man pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon that was classified as a hate crime, court documents said. According to the record, Smith conceded that his motive for the crime was his bias against Asian Americans. That added component increased the maximum term he faced to up to life in prison.
The plea was part of a deal with prosecutors and came three years after Smith was declared incompetent to stand trial. The records indicate Smith was restored to competency in January 2025, which allowed his case to move forward.
State District Judge Dominique Collins sentenced Smith to 15 years in prison, which was in accordance with the plea agreement.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment about the case. Smith’s attorney, Don Guidry, also didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.
Stephanie Drenka, executive director of the Dallas Asian American Historical Society, said in a statement Wednesday that while she hopes Smith’s sentencing offers some closure to the victims and their families, it doesn’t address the root cause of violence against Asian Americans.
“Carceral punishment holds one individual accountable, but does not confront the broader currents of racism and anti-Asian violence in this country, especially at a moment when anti-immigrant rhetoric is on the rise,” the statement said. “We believe the most effective, lasting defense is education: teaching the full honest history of Asian Americans, so future generations understand the origins of hate and how to stop it before it turns violent.”
Smith’s girlfriend told investigators he had been admitted to several mental health facilities because of his delusions about Asian people, including a belief that “the Asian mob is after him.”
The girlfriend said the delusions started after Smith was involved in a car crash with an Asian man. She also said Smith had been fired from a job for “verbally attacking” his boss, who was Asian.