Photo: Alamy
The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday it is stepping up security at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities nationwide after a gunman opened fire at a Dallas-area location, killing one detainee and injuring two others before taking his own life.
The shooter was identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn. Authorities said he wrote anti-ICE messages on his ammunition before the attack.
“This case is being investigated as an act of targeted violence,” Joe Rothrock, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas field office, said at a press conference. No law enforcement officers were hurt, he said.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the incident as part of a troubling rise in hostility toward federal immigration officers. She noted ICE personnel have faced an increase of more than 1,000% in threats and assaults in recent months.
“In light of today’s horrific shooting that was motivated by hatred for ICE and the other unprecedented acts of violence against ICE law enforcement, including bomb threats, cars being used as weapons, rocks and Molotov cocktails thrown at officers, and doxing online of officers’ families, DHS will immediately begin increasing security at ICE facilities across the country,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
She added that her office had repeatedly cautioned public officials and commentators against inflamed rhetoric targeting immigration enforcement.
“For months, we’ve been warning politicians and the media to tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcement before someone was killed,” McLaughlin said. “This shooting must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences. Comparing ICE day in and day out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences.”
Homeland Security officials did not say how many officers or resources would be added under the new security measures.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also addressed the shooting in a post to X.
“Today’s horrific attack is part of a dangerous pattern. People don’t write anti-ICE messages on ammunition and open fire on law enforcement facilities because they like ICE. This violence is directly fueled by hateful rhetoric. It must end now,” she wrote.
“The Trump administration stands with the brave men and women of @ICEgov who risk everything to protect America. They deserve honor, not demonization,” she continued.