The gunman who opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas hated the US government and wanted to incite terror by killing federal agents, officials have said.
On Wednesday, 29-year-old John Jahn targeted the ICE office building, including a van in a gated entryway that held detainees. One detainee was killed, and two others were critically wounded.
The victims’ identities have not been released.
Citing handwritten notes found at his suburban home, authorities said Jahn set out to ambush the agency and then fatally shot himself following the assault.
Jahn “specifically intended to kill ICE agents,” firing at vehicles carrying ICE personnel, federal agents and detainees, according to officials.
He also fired multiple shots in the windows of the office building where numerous ICE employees do their jobs every day,” said Joseph Rothrock, an agent in charge of the FBI Dallas field office.
Jahn’s notes indicated “that he did not expect to survive this event,” Rothrock said. “He wanted to cause terror.”
The attack happened as heightened immigration enforcement has generated a backlash against ICE agents and stirred fear in immigrant communities across the country.
Speaking about the notes written by Jahn, the authorities said he confirmed he had worked alone.
Other notes were sharply critical of ICE agents and indicated he hoped to avoid hurting any detainees.
The shooter also left behind a note saying that he hoped the attack would “give ICE agents real terror,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on the social platform X.
Hours before the shooting, the assailant conducted multiple internet searches for ballistics information and video of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah university campus this month, Patel said.
Last month, the man searched for apps that tracked the presence of ICE agents, he added.
At around 3am local time on Wednesday, Jahn was seen driving into the area with a large ladder on top of his vehicle. The ladder is believed to have been used to climb to the roof of a nearby building.
The gunfire started around 6.30am, and targeted the ICE building.
Jahn legally obtained the bolt-action rifle used in the shooting in August, police confirmed.
Wednesday’s shooting marked at least the third instance of an ICE or Customs and Border Protection facility being targeted by gunfire in Texas this year.
On July 4, a group targeted the Prairieland Detention Centre, near Fort Worth, in what authorities described as a coordinated attack that left a local police officer shot in the neck.
Days later, a 27-year-old man with a rifle and tactical gear was killed by police after he opened fire on a Border Patrol facility in McAllen.
Two officers and a Border Patrol employee were injured, and dozens of rounds were exchanged between the shooter and police.
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