Law enforcement personnel respond at the scene of a shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Dallas, Texas, U.S., September 24, 2025.
Jeffrey Mcwhorter | Reuters
Two detainees at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas were killed, and another was in critical condition after a gunman opened fire there on Wednesday morning, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The gunman was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after firing “indiscriminately” at the ICE field office building from a nearby rooftop, DHS said. No ICE officers were hurt in the attack.
The suspect was identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, who has lived in Texas and Oklahoma, senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
FBI Director Kash Patel said an “initial review of the evidence shows an [ideological] motive behind this attack.”
“One of the unspent shell casings recovered was engraved with the phrase ‘ANTI ICE,” Patel wrote in a post on X, which included a photo of the casings.
One of the unspent shell casings recovered was engraved with the phrase “ANTI ICE.”
Source: FBI
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, “This vile attack was motivated by hatred for ICE.”
Noem and other top Trump administration officials quickly linked the attack to what they characterized as extreme left-wing rhetoric against ICE.
The agency has become a flashpoint of controversy in President Donald Trump‘s second term as it carries out unprecedented operations to remove millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States.
Jahn was registered to vote as an independent, according to NBC, citing officials.
“This shooting must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences,” Noem said.
Vice President JD Vance, in a post on X, said, “The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in her own tweet, said, “Democrats must stop demonizing the heroic men and women of ICE who are just doing their jobs to keep Americans safe.”
(L-R) US Senator Ted Cruz, Republican from Texas, Mayor of Dallas Eric Johnson and Dallas Chief of Police Daniel Comeaux speak during a press conference following a shooting at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Dallas, Texas, on September 24, 2025.
Aric Becker | Afp | Getty Images
Joe Rothrock, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas field office, said the shooting was only the latest example of violence targeting ICE in Texas.
Rothrock noted that there was a “coordinated attack” on an immigrant detention center in the city of Alvarado on July 4.
In that incident, 10 were charged with attempted murder of a federal officer and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime.
A federal criminal complaint says that the group shot fireworks toward the center and vandalized vehicles and the facility.
An Alvarado police officer police officer who responded to the disturbance was shot in the neck by one of the people in the crowd, and another person shot multiple rounds at correctional officers, the complaint alleged.
At Wednesday’s conference, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson thanked law enforcement who responded to the shooting, and called for people to come together in prayer for the nation.
“There’s a lot going on right now in our country, a lot that’s confusing,” Johnson said.
“Please pray for everyone who’s affected by today’s tragedy.”
Johnson called for patience from the public while the investigation into the shooting continues.