Ten people were arrested for taking part in a "planned ambush" on an ICE detention facility in Texas over the weekend, and face charges including attempted murder of a federal officer, according to court records, ABC News has reported.
The incident took place at the Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, late Friday night, according to Nancy Larson, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, when 10 to 12 individuals began shooting fireworks and carrying out acts of vandalism at the facility.
Larson told a press conference that the incident "was a planned ambush with the intent to kill ICE corrections officers."
Some individuals drew correction officers out of the facility using the fireworks while others damaged vehicles and vandalized the facility with graffiti, Larson said.
The Alvarado Police Department said it responded to a report of a suspicious person outside the ICE Prairieland Detention Facility, according to CBS News. Alvarado police said that when one of the first responding officers attempted to engage with a person who appeared to be carrying a firearm, an unknown number of suspects opened fire and at least one bullet struck an officer in the neck.
All suspects fled the scene, though all have since been apprehended, the U.S. attorney said, according to ABC News.
No employees at the Prairieland Detention Facility were harmed during the shooting incident and the officer who was shot is expected to recover, according to Josh Johnson, the acting field office director for ICE ERO Dallas.
Ten suspects have been charged with three counts of attempted murder of a federal officer and three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and face a mandatory 10 years, up to life in prison sentence, CBS News reported. An 11th suspect has been charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to allegedly attempt to conceal and destroy evidence connected to the ambush and faces up to 10 years in prison.
After the suspects fled, Johnson County Sheriff's Office deputies stopped seven suspects. Some were wearing body armor, others were covered in mud, some were armed, and others had two-way radios, Larson said.
During their search, investigators also found a flag that read "resist fascism, fight oligarchy" and fliers that read "fight ICE terror with class war," and "free all political prisoners."
Additional searches took place over the weekend, with officers discovering masks, goggles, tactical gloves, more body armor, a cache of nine additional weapons, spray paint, fireworks, and insurrectionist material.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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