Washington, Sept 26(HS): Federal authorities have confirmed that the gunman who opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas intended to kill ICE personnel rather than detainees, based on notes recovered from his home.The attack on Wednesday left one detainee dead and two others critically injured. Officials identified the shooter as Joshua Jahn, 29, of Fairview, Texas, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Shooter’s IntentionsActing U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy Larson said Jahn’s handwritten notes outlined a plan to “maximise lethality against ICE personnel” while avoiding harm to detainees. “What he did is the very definition of terrorism,” Larson told reporters, confirming that FBI evidence revealed months of premeditation.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Jahn had prepared a “gameplan of the attack,” including an ambition to instill fear among ICE officers. In one note, he wrote: “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?’”Law enforcement officials added that Jahn acknowledged detainees could also be caught in the crossfire, as he chose a vantage point near transport vehicles used by both ICE staff and detainees.
The incident began when gunfire sprayed across the length of the ICE field office building, targeting windows and law enforcement vans. ICE and federal agents under fire managed to evacuate detainees from vehicles and move them to safety.Joe Rothrock, FBI Special Agent in Charge, described the shooting as a “targeted, ambush-style attack” directed squarely at ICE employees. Officials confirmed Jahn used mobile applications allegedly designed to track ICE personnel movements, raising fresh concerns over the digital targeting of law enforcement.
Although detainees were among the casualties, Larson stressed that Jahn’s writings showed he had specifically sought to terrorise federal employees, whom he described as “people showing up to collect a dirty pay check.”
The Mexican government confirmed one of the injured detainees is a Mexican national. Authorities did not link Jahn to any extremist group but said he harboured an explicit hatred of the federal government.Marcos Charles, ICE Field Office Director, condemned what he called “violent rhetoric” against the agency, praising officers who risked their lives to save detainees even as shots were still being fired.
The Dallas incident comes amid heightened tensions around ICE operations, with the Trump administration pursuing mass deportations as part of its broader immigration crackdown.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
