Motive of Dallas ICE facility shooter remains unclear as detainee killed and two wounded

A gunman opened fire on a rooftop at a Dallas-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility early Wednesday, killing one detainee and critically wounding two others who were in a van in the sallyport, according to a Department of Homeland Security statement. The gunman then fatally shot himself, and no ICE personnel were injured, officials said.

The shooter was identified by a law enforcement official as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, though investigators have not publicly disclosed details about the motive. The FBI said it is investigating the incident as an act of targeted violence. In a DHS update, officials said the shots were fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport. The weapon used was described as a bolt-action rifle.

Witness Edwin Cardona, an immigrant from Venezuela, said he and his son were arriving for an appointment around 6:20 a.m. when they heard gunshots. An ICE agent moved people inside to a more secure area, and Cardona said they were later reunited with their relatives. The incident prompted a broader response as authorities investigated the surroundings and searched the home linked to Jahn in a Dallas suburb.

Collin College in nearby McKinney confirmed Jahn studied there at various times between 2013 and 2018. Records from a cross-country journey earlier in Jahn’s life describe a period in late 2017 when he worked a minimum-wage job harvesting marijuana in Washington state, according to Ryan Sanderson, who owned a legal cannabis farm in the state.

Noem noted a recent uptick in the targeting of ICE agents, and lawmakers weighed in on related tensions surrounding immigration enforcement. The attack follows a string of high-profile incidents in which law enforcement and immigration facilities have been targeted. Two weeks earlier, a shooter at Utah Valley University killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a rooftop at a campus building, highlighting a national atmosphere of violence around immigration and law enforcement issues.

In nearby Texas and across the country, federal authorities have described multiple security vulnerabilities at immigration processing sites. ICE facilities vary in design and capacity; some share space with private businesses or house loading areas for buses, which can pose escape and external-attack risks. Security configurations, including perimeter protection and interior barriers, differ by location, observers noted. Officials said investigators will assess whether any site-specific factors contributed to the attack as they piece together Jahn’s background and any connections to broader threats.

As the investigation continues, authorities emphasized that the focus is on understanding the motive while ensuring the safety of ICE employees and the public. The FBI and other federal agencies are coordinating to determine the full sequence of events and any links to other incidents tied to the broader shift in immigration enforcement and political rhetoric surrounding immigrant communities.