From the Washington Post:

Dallas salon shooter had delusions around Asian people, police say

By Marisa Iati and Lindsey Bever
Updated May 17, 2022 at 4:44 p.m. EDT

The man arrested in the shooting of three women at an Asian-run hair salon in Dallas last week reportedly had panic attacks and delusions when he was around anyone of Asian descent, police said Tuesday.

Jeremy Smith, 36, began experiencing the hallucinations after getting into a car accident with an Asian American man two years ago, Chief Eddie García told reporters. Smith was arrested early Tuesday and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, while the FBI opened a federal hate-crime investigation into the attack.

Police initially said they had determined that the shooting was not a hate crime but later said it may have been motivated by racism. Two other recent shootings at Asian-run businesses in Dallas have led investigators to conclude that the three assaults may have been connected.

… The U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are helping with the FBI’s probe, said Melinda Urbina, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Dallas field office. …

The long, ugly history of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S.

The launch of a federal investigation follows a request for help that García said Dallas police made last week “out of an abundance of caution.” Hate crimes against Asian Americans have soared during the pandemic amid warnings from advocates that former president Donald Trump’s framing of the coronavirus as “the Chinese virus” was contributing to the violence.

The Dallas shooting also came days before a gunman killed 10 people at a supermarket in a majority-Black neighborhood of Buffalo. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray called the attack “a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism.” Another person was fatally shot Sunday in a Southern California church congregation in what law enforcement called an act of anti-Taiwanese hate.

… Smith, dressed all in black, fled in a maroon minivan before officers arrived, police said. …

Attacks on Asian Americans during pandemic renew criticism that U.S. undercounts hate crimes

So, to the national newspaper, the important fact making this Dallas crime story worthy of attention, is that the shooter was dressed all in black and that Donald Trump referred to “the Chinese virus.” Also, somebody, presumably white, hates the Taiwanese. The precise race of these anti-Asian racists is of no interest.

In contrast, the Dallas affiliate of NBC News puts a different emphasis in its reporting:

Suspect Accused in Dallas Salon Shooting Had Asian Delusions: Girlfriend

The man accused of opening fire inside Hair World Salon in the heart of Dallas’ Koreatown earlier this month was arrested Monday while working a landscaping job in DeSoto.

Published May 17, 2022 • Updated 5 hours ago

A Black man whose girlfriend says he suffered from delusions about Asian Americans is in custody, accused of opening fire inside Hair World Salon in the heart of Dallas’ Koreatown earlier this month and injuring three Asian women. Police have said the shooting may have been a hate crime.

If there is hope, it lies with the If-It-Bleeds-It-Leads local news.

[Comment at Unz.com]