They survived the Dallas hair salon shooting. Here’s their message.

The May 11 shooting wounded three women of Korean descent and is being investigated as a hate crime

By Soo Youn | The Washington Post | May 26, 2022

In 2019, two women opened Hair World Salon in the Korean district of Dallas. Years ago, they had moved to the United States to give their children a life outside of the cutthroat South Korean education system and believed that hard work would guarantee a successful life in this new country. But shortly after opening the salon, the coronavirus hit, in effect shutting down and then dampening business for almost two years.

On May 11, as business was beginning to pick up for them, a gunman walked into the salon and fired about 13 rounds, according to Dallas Police: He wounded three women of Korean descent in front of four others before returning to his car and speeding away. The shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, and law enforcement officials say two other recent shootings at Asian-run businesses in Dallas may have been connected.

The two co-owners of the salon, M.J., 50, and C.J., 44, were shot. They spoke to The Washington Post on the condition that only their initials be used because they were scared of further violence.

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