Texas man charged with firing on random motorists

A 22-year-old man has been charged with shooting at random motorists over three days in the Dallas suburbs, and prosecutors said Tuesday they would treat the charges as hate crimes.

Thai-An Huu Nguyen faces three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon _ two from Garland and one from Richardson. Nguyen, 22, of Garland, also was charged with deadly conduct by discharging a firearm.

Several people were injured in the shootings, which happened from June 29 to July 1 in Garland, Mesquite, Richardson and Plano. The majority of the shootings involved cars stopped at red lights or traveling on highways.

The suspect apparently said he was targeting Asians and Hispanics, and even though not all the targets were Asian or Hispanic, authorities believe that Nguyen believed them to be.