Manhunt underway for gunman who shot 3 Korean women in Texas hair salon

A search is underway for a suspect who opened fire at a Dallas hair salon on Wednesday, injuring three women inside, according to local police.

Dallas police responded to a shooting at the Hair World Salon in the northwest part of the city at around 2:20 p.m. local time. The business is located in an area called the Asian Trade District, better known as Dallas’s Koreatown.

A Black male dressed in all black entered the salon and began shooting with a “large firearm,” striking three women, according to a news release by the Dallas PD on Facebook. The suspect then fled in a maroon minivan, according to surveillance camera footage.

The business was Korean-owned and all the victims – the owner, an employee and a customer – were Korean women, reports NBC Dallas Fort-Worth.

All three were transported to local hospitals for with non-life-threatening injuries. The victims were all shot in their extremities – one in the arm and another in the leg.

Police have not determined a motive for the shooting but did not find any indication so far that it was a hate crime.

"It's disturbing that for whatever reason might be, whether it's just an argument or whatever, for someone to just run up in there and start shooting," said Dallas Police Sgt. Warren Mitchel told a press conference Wednesday.

Dallas City Councilman Omar Narvaez, who represents the district where the violence unfolded, concurred with the sergeant.

“These acts of violence are disturbing, and I have full faith that the Dallas Police Department will capture the perpetrators," Narvaez said in a statement.

"The Asian Trade District AKA KoreaTown is a vibrant business community which has grown exponentially over the years, and I am committed to making sure this important business district continues to thrive."

A local Korean community leader told NBC News that his community is afraid following the shooting. Anti-Asian hate crimes have risen 339% in 2021, but he noted he hasn’t noticed them in the area before.

Authorities are asking for help identifyinf and locatin the suspect, who they describe as 5’7” to 5’10” with a thin build, curly medium length hair and a connecting beard. A $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest.

Photos were released by Dallas PD late Wednesday evening, showing a man in a black hoodie with what appears to be a rifle running to a maroon minivan.

The FBI has been called to assist in the investigation, which is still ongoing.