‘Anti-ICE’ message on ammunition at Dallas shooting that killed immigration detainee

BBC:

A detainee has died and two others are critically injured after a rooftop sniper opened fire at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centre in Dallas, Texas, officials say.

The gunman fired indiscriminately at the ICE facility and at a nearby unmarked van, law enforcement officials say, before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

No law enforcement were injured. FBI Director Kash Patel posted a photo on X of unused ammunition recovered from the scene. One casing has the phrase “ANTI-ICE” on it.

It is the latest in a string of attacks on ICE facilities in recent months as the agency ramps up efforts to deliver on US President Donald Trump’s pledge for mass deportations.

“While the investigation is ongoing, an initial review of the evidence shows an ideological motive behind this attack,” Patel wrote on X.

“These despicable, politically motivated attacks against law enforcement are not a one-off.”

Dallas police said officers responded to an assist officer call at the facility around 06:40 local time (11:40  GMT).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said three detainees were shot. One has died, and two were critically injured, it said. They remain in critical condition, officials later said.

The department had initially said two people had died in addition to the shooter, only to revise that information conditions hours later.

One injured detainee is a Mexican national, the Mexican foreign ministry said.

Acting ICE director Todd Lyons identified the shooter as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, the BBC’s US partner, CBS News reported. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

Voter records indicate he was registered as an independent and last voted in the general election in 2024.

Jahn had cannabis related charges in Texas dating back to 2016, according to records seen by the BBC.

FBI special agent Joe Rothrock told a news conference that rounds found near the gunman contained “messages that are anti-ICE in nature”.

“This is just the most recent example of this type of attack,” he said, adding the FBI was investigating it as “an act of targeted violence”.

Dallas police said a preliminary investigation determined the suspect had opened fire from an adjacent building.

“The shooter fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport where the victims were shot,” DHS said in a statement.

The Reuters news agency reported that the building targeted is an ICE field office used for short-term processing of recently arrested detainees, and is not used as a detention facility.

Lyons told CBS News on Wednesday that the shooter deliberately targeted law enforcement with a “high-powered rifle”.

He said given the time are area of the shooting, it could have been more deadly.

The suspect “could have, in his indiscriminate fire, hit people traveling to work, civilians on the ground,” he said.

Edwin Cardona, a Dallas resident from Venezuela, told local media he was entering the building for an appointment when he heard gunfire.

“I was afraid for my family because my family was outside. I felt terrible because I thought something could happen to them. Thank God no,” he said.