Dallas ICE Facility Shooting: 1 Detainee Dead, 2 Injured, Gunman Dead

A shooter with a rifle opened fire from a nearby roof onto a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement location in Dallas on Wednesday, killing a detainee and wounding another two critically before taking his own life, authorities said.

"This morning, a deranged gunman attacked a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Dallas field office from a nearby rooftop," the Department of Homeland Security wrote on X. "The shooter fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, as well as at a van in the sallyport where the victims were shot. Three detainees were shot.

In a news conference on Newsmax, the FBI said ammunition found at the scene contained "messages that are anti-ICE in nature" near the suspected assassin. Director Kash Patel released a photo on social media that shows a bullet containing the words "ANTI-ICE" written in what appears to be marker.

The FBI said during the news conference that it was investigating the shooting as "an act of targeted violence."

The attack is the latest public, targeted killing in the U.S. and comes two weeks after conservative leader Charlie Kirk was killed by a shooter on a roof.

Officers responded to a call to assist an officer on North Stemmons Freeway around 6:40 a.m. Wednesday and determined that someone opened fire at a government building from an adjacent building, Dallas police spokesperson Officer Jonathen E. Maner said in an email.

The Dallas Fire-Rescue Department was also dispatched after a call reporting a shooting at or near the immigration office, department spokesperson Jason L. Evans said in an email.

"This was an attack on ICE law enforcement," the DHS post continued. "This horrific attack occurred amidst the 1000% increase in assaults against @ICEgov.

"Politicians and media pundits must stop the vile lies and smears designed to demonize and dehumanize ICE law enforcement. This shooting must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences. DHS is working with partner agencies on the ground. Please join us in praying for the victims and their families.

"President Trump and @Sec_Noem stand with the men and women of ICE."

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, forcefully condemned what he called dangerous, politically motivated rhetoric against ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

"This needs to stop," Cruz said at the news conference, pointing to the attack as the third shooting in Texas targeting ICE or CBP. "Violence is wrong. Politically motivated violence is wrong."

He also referenced the recent attempted political assassination in Utah as part of a troubling pattern.

Cruz directly called out politicians who, in his words, have demonized ICE and CBP agents, encouraged doxxing, and put law enforcement families at risk.

"This has very real consequences," he warned. "Your political opponents are not Nazis. We need to learn to work together without demonizing each other."

The senator praised the bravery of ICE, CBP, and law enforcement officers, urging prayers for the victims, their families, and those who continue to serve in dangerous roles. While acknowledging debates over immigration policy are legitimate, Cruz stressed they must take place "in the halls of Congress," not through rhetoric that could incite violence.

"Our prayers are with the men and women of law enforcement," Cruz said. "This violence is wrong, and it needs to stop."

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called out the far-left's "rhetoric" in an X post.

"For months, we've been warning politicians and the media to tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcement before someone was killed," Noem wrote. "These horrendous killings 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. The men and women of ICE are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, we just want to go home to our families at night.

"The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop. We are praying for the victims and their families."

Police sources told Fox 4 in Dallas that the suspect was a sniper armed with a rifle, and identified him as a white man who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head while agents were approaching.

A local report had the shooter positioned on a rooftop and he began firing on an unmarked van carrying ICE detainees as it arrived at the facility.

Investigators believe they know the identity of the shooter, but they are still working to confirm and verify that information before releasing his name to the public, sources told Newsmax.

No law enforcement agents were injured in the shooting, according to acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott called it an "assassination" plot in a post on X.

"Texas fully supports ICE 💯," he wrote. "Both the Texas Dept. of Public Safety & Texas National Guard work closely with ICE.

"This assassination will NOT slow our arrest, detention, & deportation of illegal immigrants.

"We will work with ICE & the Dallas Police Dept. to get to the bottom of the assassin’s motive. We will offer ICE additional support to assist their operations."

Vice President JD Vance responded to an earlier Noem tweet with a call to end the violence on law enforcement.

"The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop," Vance posted on X, sharing Noem's post. "I'm praying for everyone hurt in this attack and for their families."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, also reposting Noem's statement, called on followers to "join me in praying for the victims of this heinous shooting. We will continue to do everything in our power to combat the alarming increase of targeted attacks against ICE and all law enforcement by evil, twisted individuals."

The ICE facility where the three people were shot contains three to four holding cells used to process detainees before transfer to a detention center, a former senior ICE official told CNN.

The site can hold anywhere from a handful of detainees up to about 100, though it typically houses only a few dozen at a time, the official added.

The Dallas ICE field office is a frequent backdrop for protests over Trump-era immigration enforcement. Demonstrations this year have included CAIR-DFW and Students for Justice in Palestine, the Brown Berets de DFW, and regular prayer vigils by interfaith clergy and Faith Commons.

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a broadcast interview that Wednesday's shooting happened "just a month ago to the day that there was a viable bomb threat" in Dallas.

"So this location, it looks like it's been targeted, and we don't know how long this individual has been planning this act," she said. "It looks like he could have been watching to look at the processing and see what happens on a day-to-day basis at this Dallas field office. But [these are] all answers that Homeland Security investigation is going to get down to the bottom of."

A July 4 attack at a Texas immigration detention center injured a police officer, who was shot in the neck. Attackers dressed in black military-style clothing opened fire outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas, federal prosecutors said. At least 11 people have been charged in connection with the attack.

A man with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents as they were leaving a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen on July 7. The man, identified as Ryan Louis Mosqueda, injured a police officer who responded to the scene before authorities shot and killed him. Police later found other weaponry, ammunition and backpacks inside his car.

Newsmax writer Sandy Fitzgerald and material from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.