WASHINGTON – This morning, a sniper opened fire from a nearby rooftop on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Dallas field office. The shooter fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport where the victims were shot. Three detainees were shot. Two are deceased, and the other is in critical condition. The gunman was found with a self-inflicted gun wound.
“Our prayers are with the families of those killed and our ICE law enforcement. This vile attack was motivated by hatred for ICE,” said Secretary Noem. “For months, we’ve been warning politicians and the media to tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcement before someone was killed. This shooting 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.” - Department of Homeland Security (official)
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Update: DALLAS (AP) — FBI says ammunition at Dallas shooting scene contained anti-ICE messaging.
DALLAS (AP) — Three people, including detainees, have been shot at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas and the shooter is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, federal authorities said.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons confirmed the shooting during an interview on CNN on Wednesday.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin later told Fox News that no ICE agents were injured.
“We believe he was shooting at law enforcement and detainees from an apartment building,” McLaughlin said. “Detainees were among the victims of the shooting.”
The FBI said during a news conference Wednesday morning that it was investigating the shooting as “an act of targeted violence.”
“Early evidence that we’ve seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contain messages that were anti-ICE in nature,” said Joe Rothrock, special agent in charge of the Dallas field office.
DALLAS (AP) — Three people, including detainees, have been shot at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas and the shooter is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, federal authorities said.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons confirmed the shooting during an interview on CNN on Wednesday.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin later told Fox News that no ICE agents were injured.
“We believe he was shooting at law enforcement and detainees from an apartment building,” McLaughlin said. ”Detainees were among the victims of the shooting."
Officers responded to a call to assist an officer on North Stemmons Freeway around 6:40 a.m. Wednesday and the preliminary investigation determined that a person 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.
Parkland Hospital has received two patients from the shooting, hospital spokesperson April Foran said by telephone. She did not have any details about their conditions.
A third person died at the scene after the shooting, Maner said. The investigation is ongoing and a briefing was expected later in the day.
Dozens of emergency vehicles were seen along a highway near the facility.
The ICE facility is along Interstate 35 East, just southwest of Dallas Love Field, a large commercial airport serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, and just blocks from hotels catering to airport travelers.
Traffic cameras near the scene showed six lanes of a normally busy freeway empty, with cars and semitrailers ground to a halt on an interstate exit.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said details were still emerging, but the agency was confirming there were “multiple injuries and fatalities” at the field office. Noem said the motive remained unclear, but noted there has been an uptick in targeting of ICE agents.
ICE and Homeland Security didn’t immediately provide additional details.
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.
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Associated Press reporters Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, and Jeff Martin, in Atlanta, contributed to this story.
Dozens of emergency vehicles were seen along a highway near the facility.
The ICE facility is along Interstate 35 East, just southwest of Dallas Love Field, a large commercial airport serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, and just blocks from hotels catering to airport travelers.
Traffic cameras near the scene showed six lanes of a normally busy freeway empty, with cars and semitrailers ground to a halt on an interstate exit.
ICE and Homeland Security didn’t immediately provide additional details.
The Dallas Fire-Rescue Department was dispatched at 6:41 a.m. after a call reporting a shooting at or near the immigration office, department spokesperson Jason L. Evans said in an email. Evans said he didn’t have any confirmed details he could share, calling it an active and ongoing incident.
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.
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Associated Press reporters Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, and Jeff Martin, in Atlanta, contributed to this story.
