A gunman opened fire on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Dallas early Wednesday, killing one detainee and wounding two others before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. Immediately, despite no clear motive for the shooting being established, Republicans blamed the attack on ICE’s critics.
President Donald Trump seized on the violence, blaming Democrats for creating what he called a hostile climate toward immigration officers. In a social media post, he accused “Deranged Radical Leftists” of fostering anti-ICE sentiment and insisted that Democrats “STOP THIS RHETORIC AGAINST ICE.”
“The Brave Men and Women of ICE are just trying to do their jobs, and remove the ‘WORST of the WORST’ Criminals out of our Country, but they are facing an unprecedented increase in threats, violence, and attacks,” he wrote. No federal agents were hurt in the attack.
Other Republicans echoed the message.
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that “the obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop.” MAGA activist Laura Loomer claimed — without evidence — that left-wing groups were coordinating attacks on conservatives, including Trump, immigration officers and activist Charlie Kirk, who was recently shot and killed in Utah.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem likewise described the Dallas attack as “a wake-up call to the far left,” while Senator Ted Cruz demanded politicians to stop “demonizing” ICE and Customs and Border Protection personnel.
Those denunciations came before investigators had offered any explanation for the attack. Later Wednesday, FBI director Kash Patel said federal agents had recovered ammunition engraved with the phrase “ANTI-ICE,” but the investigation is ongoing, and authorities say they have not determined Jahn’s motive.
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The deceased suspect’s political leanings are also not entirely clear.
The alleged shooter has reportedly been identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, a Dallas-area native. Public records show little political profile, and relatives told reporters they were surprised by his claimed involvement.
Friends of the Jahn’s told the independent journalist Ken Klippenstein that they did not believe the inscription on the bullet could be sincere given what they know about him. According to Klippenstein’s report, Jahn demonstrated disdain for major political parties and figures, but “such a serious political statement was anathema to who Jahn was. His humor was deeply ironic, often offensive and aggressive to the point of alienation.”
“On two Reddit accounts, he wrote mostly about video games, cars, ‘South Park’ and marijuana,” The New York Times reported. “He voted in a Democratic primary in March 2020 in Texas, records show, but he also was registered to vote as an independent in Oklahoma, where his parents own property and where he voted in the 2024 general election.”
