At least two immigration detainees are dead and one more hospitalized after a gunman opened fire outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Dallas Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The shooter is also dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, DHS said. Federal officials are now investigating the shooting as an anti-ICE attack.
"Our prayers are with the families of those killed and our ICE law enforcement. This vile attack was motivated by hatred for ICE," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday. "For months, we've been warning politicians and the media to tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcement before someone was killed."
Early evidence from rounds found near the alleged shooter contained anti-ICE messages, according to the agency.
The violence started after a sniper opened fire "indiscriminately" from the roof of an adjacent building, including at the victims at a van near the building's entrance, according to the agency.
The identities of the victims were not immediately clear, but federal officials confirmed no one in law enforcement was injured.
The shooting sparked reaction from lawmakers on X who characterized the shooting as a politically motivated attack.
J.D. Vance called the shooting an "attack on law enforcement," while Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas fully supports ICE.
"This assassination will NOT slow our arrest, detention and deportation of illegal immigrants," Abbott said.
Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua criticized those who were politicizing the shooting in a press release shared with KERA.
"At a time when our communities are desperate for healing, leadership, and real solutions, we are instead met with more division and finger-pointing," Bazaldua said.
'Anti-ICE'
FBI director Kash Patel called the shooting a politically motivated attack on law enforcement in a statement on X. He also shared a photo of shell casings, on one of which was written the words "Anti-ICE."
"We are only miles from Prarieland, Texas where just two months ago an individual ambushed a separate ICE facility targeting their officers," Patel said. "It has to end and the FBI and our partners will lead these investigative efforts to see to it that those who target our law enforcement are pursued and brought to the fullest extent of justice."
At least 17 people have been charged in connection with a July 4 attack at the Prairieland immigration detention center where a local police officer was injured.
Court documents unsealed in July allege as many as 12 people dressed in all black were shooting fireworks towards the Prairieland Detention Center July 4 when correctional officers called dispatch.
When an Alvarado police officer arrived, several people began to flee the scene on foot and ignore verbal commands, according to a more recent complaint.
A person in the woods then opened fire, hitting the Alvarado officer in the neck, according to court records. It's unclear who among those arrested is accused of opening fire.
Immigration hub
The facility in downtown Dallas is ICE's main field office in Dallas and serves a much wider geographic area than Dallas, including Oklahoma.
The field office sees people with ongoing immigration cases who check in with ICE officers, as well as detainees who are processed and placed at different detention facilities, according to Belinda Arroyo, a Dallas immigration attorney whose firm is only a few minutes away from the building.
Arroyo said she had to send most of her staff home this morning as they couldn't get into their office.
"I mean, I have clients that come in all the way from East Texas to check in with ICE office," Arroyo said. "So, it's not even just officers, you also have, you know, people who are in active removal proceedings who are there on a daily basis. So, I'm sure there were probably a lot of other people there as well."
At the height of the Biden administration, Arroyo estimates hundreds of people visited the facility daily. With fewer people coming in at the border under the Trump administration, she said, that number is probably closer to 100 a day.
Arroyo doesn't exactly know how the shooting will affect the facility and her clients, she said. But she expects to see increased security, something she said has been lacking in the years she's worked in and around the building.
"Every type of person goes to that facility," Arroyo said. "And so, any type of person could have been hurt. So, you know, all this hate towards anybody is really hurting everybody."
The field office was also the target of a bomb threat last month. Federal authorities say Bratton Dean Wilkinson, 36, showed up to the office claiming to have a bomb in his backpack and showed security what he said was a "detonator" on his wrist. After an investigation found no bomb, he was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats.
Kessler Park United Methodist Church hosts weekly prayer vigils on the sidewalk outside the Dallas ICE facility. No congregants were there Wednesday morning, but lead pastor Eric Folkerth asked in a Facebook post that people pray for everyone involved.
"I will say this: Every week in my prayers, I pray sincere prayers for ICE agents and staff, alongside our fervent prayers for immigrant neighbors," Folkerth wrote. "I do this precisely because, as a follower of Jesus, I am convinced that violence...either perpetrating it, or being a victim of it...is not a solution to our problems."
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