Deadly shooting at Dallas ICE facility investigated by FBI as targeted attack; gunman dead, officials say
By Julia Falcon
One person was killed and two people are in critical condition after a shooting at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas on Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Acting ICE director Todd Lyons identified the shooter as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
All three of the victims shot were detainees of the facility, federal authorities said.
DHS issued a correction Wednesday afternoon after previously reporting that two people were killed and one person was in critical condition.
The facility is located along I-35E, just southwest of Dallas Love Field Airport.
Dallas police said officers responded to an assist officer call at the facility around 6:40 a.m. An initial law enforcement report indicated the gunman was positioned at an elevated location. The gunman opened fire from the rooftop of an attorney’s office across the street from the ICE Detention facility, on Empress Street.
Just after 10 a.m., ICE said the scene was secured. According to ICE, the shooter opened fire on the facility, firing “indiscriminately at the building and those in the sallyport.”
“Early evidence that we’ve seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contain messages that are anti-ICE in nature,” said Joe Rothrock, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas field office.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted a photo and wrote, “One of the unspent shell casings recovered was engraved with the phrase ‘ANTI ICE.'”
The Dallas Field Office serves as a temporary holding facility for some detainees. Between January 20 and mid-June, an average of 47 people were held there each day, spending roughly seven hours in detention, according to a CBS News analysis of ICE data compiled by the Vera Institute of Justice and the Deportation Data Project.
The Mexican Consulate in Dallas has confirmed that one of the victims who was shot is a Mexican national.
August bomb threat at same Dallas ICE facility
Wednesday’s shooting was not the first security threat at the Dallas ICE facility, according to DHS.
Approximately one month earlier, DHS reported that a man, later identified as 36-year-old Bratton Dean Wilkinson, a U.S. citizen, approached the field office’s reporting entrance and claimed to have a bomb in his backpack.
Wilkinson allegedly showed a security officer what he described as a “detonator” strapped to his wrist, prompting a shelter-in-place order at the Dallas ICE facility, DHS said. The officer immediately contacted 911, and local law enforcement responded with a bomb squad. Wilkinson was taken into custody and later charged with making terroristic threats, DHS said.
DHS Secretary blames anti-ICE rhetoric for the Dallas shooting
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem condemned the violence and called for a national reckoning on the rhetoric surrounding ICE. Federal officials labeled the incident a targeted assault on law enforcement.
In a strongly worded statement, Noem said:
“Our prayers are with the families of those killed and our ICE law enforcement. This vile attack was motivated by hatred for ICE. For months, we’ve been warning politicians and the media to tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcementbefore someone was killed. This shooting must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences. Comparing ICE Day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences. The men and women of ICE are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, we just want to go home to our families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop. We are praying for the victims and their families.”
Noem also ordered DHS to immediately begin increasing security at ICE facilities across the country.
State, federal lawmakers react to shooting
Local, state and federal lawmakers reacted to the shooting, calling on violence against ICE agents to stop.
“My hearts and prayers go out to my officers and agents, [that’s] my biggest concern as well as everyone in that area but this just shows the violence has been increased against ICE officers and agents,” acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in an interview with CNN.
Sen. Ted Cruz was in Dallas Wednesday morning. He repeatedly said that politically motivated violence needs to stop.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed his support for ICE, saying the state fully supports ICE.
“Both the Texas Dept. of Public Safety & Texas National Guard work closely with ICE. This assassination will NOT slow our arrest, detention, & deportation of illegal immigrants,” he said on X. “We will work with ICE & the Dallas Police Dept. to get to the bottom of the assassin’s motive. We will offer ICE additional support to assist their operations.”
Texas Department of Transportation cameras near the facility showed a heavy first responder presence with dozens of units.
“Please join me in prayer for the injured and their families from this morning’s active shooter incident at the ICE facility in Dallas,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said on X. “Violence and terror is never the answer to anything.”
The Fort Worth Police Department also posted on X, condemning the violence.
“The violence that occurred in Dallas, TX this morning is uncalled for and moments like this are deeply disturbing as it creates more division in our community at a time when the focus needs to be on how we can come together,” the post reads. “We continue to ask our community that if you see something, say something.”
CBS News confirmed that a bomb threat was made to the same office on Aug. 25. A man was arrested and charged after he claimed to have a detonator. He’s been detained for weeks.
Second ICE facility attack in Texas in 2025
A Fourth of July attack at a Texas immigration detention center injured a police officer, who was shot in the neck.
Attackers dressed in black military-style clothing opened fire outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas, federal prosecutors said. At least 11 people have been charged in connection with the attack.
Attack against CBP federal agents in McAllen, Texas
A man with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents as they were leaving a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen on July 7.
The man, identified as Ryan Louis Mosqueda, injured a police officer who responded to the scene before authorities shot and killed him. Police later found other weaponry, ammunition and backpacks inside his car.
“The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop,” Vice President JD Vance said on X. “I’m praying for everyone hurt in this attack and for their families.”
