Dallas ICE Facility Shooter Kills One Detainee in “Anti-ICE” Attack Before Taking Own Life
29-year-old Joshua Jahn fires rifle from rooftop at immigration facility, leaving shell casings with politically motivated messages as federal officials warn of rising violence against law enforcement
A lone gunman opened fire Wednesday morning from a nearby rooftop at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office, killing one detainee and critically wounding two others before taking his own life in what federal authorities are calling a politically motivated “act of targeted violence” against immigration enforcement officers.
The shooter, identified by law enforcement sources as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn of Fairview, Texas, fired indiscriminately at the ICE building and an unmarked transport van where the victims were located, according to the Department of Homeland Security. FBI Director Kash Patel released images showing shell casings found near the shooter’s body, including one engraved with “ANTI-ICE” in blue ink.
“This Was an Attack on ICE Law Enforcement”
The shooting unfolded around 6:40 a.m. local time when Dallas police received calls about gunfire at the federal facility located on North Stemmons Freeway. Officers arrived to find Jahn dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the roof of a nearby law office building, approximately 218 yards from the ICE facility.
“This was an attack on ICE law enforcement,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem declared in a statement. “For months, we’ve been warning politicians and the media to tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcement before someone was killed. This shooting must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences”.
The three victims were detainees being processed at the facility. One Mexican national remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the third detainee died at the scene. No ICE officers or other federal personnel were injured in the attack.
Pattern of Escalating Violence Against Federal Immigration Officials
Wednesday’s shooting represents the fourth incident of violence or threats directed at ICE or Customs and Border Protection facilities in Texas this year alone. In July, a police officer was shot at an ICE detention center in Alvarado, and last month, authorities arrested 36-year-old Bratton Dean Wilkinson after he claimed to have a bomb at the same Dallas facility targeted Wednesday.
FBI Special Agent Joe Rothrock, who heads the Dallas field office, characterized the shooting as part of a disturbing trend. “Unfortunately, this is just the latest instance of targeted violence we’ve witnessed,” Rothrock said during a press conference, noting that “early evidence that we’ve seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contain messages that are anti-ICE in nature”.
ICE officials report facing a “more than 1,000 percent rise” in assaults against personnel this year, though the agency has not provided specific data detailing these incidents. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced Wednesday that all ICE facilities nationwide would be placed on higher alert following the Dallas attack.
Shooter’s Background Reveals Limited Political Engagement
Joshua Jahn’s background paints the picture of a drifting young man with minimal political involvement and no history of violent crime. Public records show he lived in the Dallas suburb of Fairview and had previous marijuana-related charges from 2016, receiving five years’ probation and $680 in fines.
His brother, Noah Jahn, expressed shock at the shooting, telling reporters that Joshua “didn’t have strong feelings about ICE as far as I knew” and was “not particularly engaged in politics” on either side. Noah described his brother as “unique” but said he never imagined him capable of political violence.
“He liked playing video games,” recalled one childhood friend who asked not to be named. “Josh was the least political out of all the people I knew in high school. This is a complete shock to me”.
Records indicate Jahn briefly attended the University of Texas at Dallas over a decade ago and worked for a few months at a solar energy company in 2018. He was reportedly unemployed at the time of the shooting and planned to move into his parents’ Oklahoma home.
Political Tensions Surrounding Immigration Enforcement Intensify
The shooting comes amid the Trump administration’s aggressive expansion of deportation operations, with officials targeting 3,000 arrests daily nationwide. These intensified enforcement efforts have sparked protests and confrontations in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, with some demonstrations turning violent.
Vice President JD Vance characterized the shooter as a “left-wing extremist” who was “politically motivated to go after people who are enforcing our border.” However, he did not provide evidence supporting this claim.
“We are compared to the Gestapo, to the SS, and that is simply untrue and a dangerous narrative that places us in precarious situations,” said Madison Sheahan, ICE’s deputy director, in a Fox News interview Wednesday.
Federal Response and Investigation Continues
The FBI is leading the investigation into what officials have labeled an act of domestic terrorism. Investigators recovered Jahn’s vehicle outside the law office where he positioned himself, which reportedly bore a sign reading: “Radioactive fallout from nuclear formations that’ve passed over these areas more than 2x since 1951”.
DHS released photographs showing bullet holes in the ICE facility’s exterior windows and an interior display housing an American flag, underscoring the building’s targeting. Officials noted that bullets were found throughout the facility, indicating Jahn’s indiscriminate firing pattern.
The shooting has intensified calls from Republican officials for decreased rhetoric against immigration enforcement personnel. “The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop,” Secretary Noem said in her statement.
As federal authorities continue their investigation, the Dallas shooting stands as a stark reminder of how political tensions surrounding immigration policy can escalate into deadly violence, claiming innocent lives while failing to achieve any meaningful political objectives. The incident underscores growing concerns about targeted attacks against federal law enforcement as the Trump administration’s deportation efforts expand nationwide.