The motive of a shooter who authorities said opened fire on a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas, killing one detainee and wounding two others before taking his own life, remained unclear yesterday.
The man suspected of firing a rifle from a nearby rooftop into a transport van on Wednesday was identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn by a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted a photograph on social media showing a bullet found at the scene with “ANTI-ICE” written on it.
Photo: AP
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem ordered more security at ICE facilities across the US, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wrote on social media.
However, no ICE agents were wounded in the shooting.
The attack was the latest public, targeted killing in the US, coming two weeks after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed by a rifle-wielding shooter and as heightened immigration enforcement has prompted a backlash against ICE agents and fear in immigrant communities.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association called the shootings “a stark reminder that behind every immigration case number is a human being deserving of dignity, safety and respect.”
“Whether they are individuals navigating the immigration process, public servants carrying out their duties or professionals working within the system, all deserve to be free from violence and fear,” the group said in a statement.
The DHS in a statement said that shots were fired “indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport,” a secure and gated entryway.
The wounded detainees were in critical condition at a hospital, it said.
Authorities have given few details about the incident and did not release the names of the victims, although Noem appeared on Fox and confirmed media reports that the suspected shooter had been identified as Jahn.
The FBI said it was investigating the shooting as “an act of targeted violence.”
The gunman used a bolt-action rifle, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Edwin Cardona, an immigrant from Venezuela, said that he was entering the ICE building with his son for an appointment at about 6:20am when he heard gunshots.
An agent took people who were inside to a more secure area and said there was an active shooter.
“I was afraid for my family, because my family was outside. I felt terrible, because I thought something could happen to them,” Cardona said, adding that they were later reunited.
Shortly after the shooting and before officials said at least one victim was a detainee, US Vice President J.D. Vance wrote on social media that “the obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop.”
Republican US Senator Ted Cruz, who represents Texas, continued in that direction, calling for an end to political violence.
Jahn’s older brother, Noah Jahn, 30, said he was not aware that his brother harbored any negative feelings about ICE.
“I didn’t know he had any political intent at all,” said the older brother, who lives in McKinney, Texas, about 48km north of Dallas, as did his sibling.
Wednesday’s attack was the third shooting this year in Texas at a DHS facility. A police officer was shot in July at an ICE detention center in Prairieland, and a Michigan man was shot dead by agents after opening fire on a US Border Patrol station in McAllen that same month.
The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, an advocacy group, said the shootings are “a heartbreaking reminder of the violence and fear that too often touch the lives of migrants and the communities where they live.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
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