Authorities have stated that notes penned by the individual responsible for the shooting at a Texas immigration facility suggest his primary objective was targeting ICE agents, with no intention of harming detainees.
The incident, which occurred on Wednesday at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center in Dallas, resulted in the death of one detainee and critical injuries to two others after a suspected sniper opened fire.
Law enforcement officials have confirmed that the suspected gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
During a press conference held on Thursday, Nancy Larson, acting US attorney for the Northern District of Texas, identified the shooter as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, a resident of Fairview, Texas.
According to Larson, notes discovered at the shooter’s residence revealed his intent to “maximize lethality against ICE personnel and to maximize property damage at the facility.”
She added, “He hoped to minimize any collateral damage or injury to the detainees and any other innocent people.”
“It seems that he did not intend to kill the detainees or harm them. It is clear from these notes that he was targeting ICE agents and ICE personnel.”
The identities of the victims have not yet been released.
However, the Mexican foreign ministry has reported that one of the injured detainees is a Mexican national.
Officials previously indicated that no law enforcement officers were injured or killed in the attack.
FBI Director Kash Patel stated in a social media post that evidence “to this point indicates a high degree of pre-attack planning.”
Patel cited one of the handwritten notes, which read: “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?'”
At Thursday’s press conference, Larson suggested that the shooter “very likely acted alone.”
She described the scene, stating, “That morning gunshots sprayed the length of the building, the windows, and law enforcement vans that were in the sallyport area,” and confirmed that detainees were hit.
The notes, found at the shooter’s residence, included a “gameplan of the attack,” according to Larson.
The suspected shooter described ICE employees as “people showing up to collect a dirty pay check,” Ms. Larson stated.
She further noted that the shooter had hoped his actions would “terrorize ICE employees and interfere with their work.”
“What he did is the very definition of terrorism,” she asserted.
While no evidence of membership in any specific group was found, and the shooter did not mention any government agency other than ICE, he did express his animosity towards the federal government, she said.
Larson also commended ICE and other federal agents for their efforts under fire to evacuate detainees from vans and secure their safety.
FBI Special Agent Joe Rothrock characterized the incident as a “targeted, ambush-style attack on law enforcement” that had been planned for months.
He stated that the shooter “specifically intended to kill ICE agents” and fired at transport vehicles carrying ICE personnel, federal employees, and detainees.
“Jahn also acknowledged the potential for other casualties. He knew with a high likelihood ICE detainees would be transported that morning in the exact location where he was facing from his perch on a nearby rooftop,” he said.
“The clearest motivations at this point are the harm he wanted to cause to ICE. We’re not aware of any specific relationships he had with anybody in detention,” Mr. Rothrock said, while noting the investigation is still ongoing.
Jahn’s hand-written notes indicate “he did not expect to survive this event,” the agent said.
Marcos Charles, ICE field office director of enforcement and removal operations, emphasized the need to end “violent rhetoric” against ICE.
“In contrast to those who would demonize our men and women, yesterday our brave officers ran back into danger,” he said, alongside other federal agents, “to save the detainees while shots were still being fired.”
He asserted that the shooter used apps designed to track ICE officers and suggested that those producing and distributing them are “well aware of the dangers that they are exposing to law enforcement.”
Tensions have risen at ICE facilities in recent months amidst the Trump administration’s efforts to significantly increase deportations as part of a broader crackdown on illegal immigration.
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