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A gunman who meticulously planned an ambush on a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility killed 1 detainee and injured 2 others before taking his own life, in what federal officials called an act of terrorism aimed at instilling fear in law enforcement.
Nancy Larson, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, told reporters Thursday that Wednesday’s shooting was the third violent attack or threat at ICE facilities during her four months in the role.
In the latest incident, she said 29-year-old Joshua Jahn opened fire from a rooftop before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Larson added he likely acted alone.
Investigators said video from around 3 a.m. showed Jahn driving with a large ladder on his car, which they believe he used to climb onto the roof.
“That morning, gunshots sprayed the length of the building, the windows and law enforcement vans that were in the sally port area,” Larson said. “Detainees were struck by these bullets. One was killed, two were wounded and both of them are undergoing treatment.”
The FBI quickly processed the crime scene and executed multiple search warrants on Jahn’s devices and locations. At his residence, agents found a collection of notes.
“I want to point out that one of these notes or papers the sniper explicitly states, ‘yes, it was just me’,” Larson said. “That statement appears to be correct at this point in the investigation.”
She said the notes included a game plan of the attack and target areas at the ICE facility. Jahn referred to ICE employees as those who show up to “collect a dirty paycheck.”
“He wrote that he intended to maximize his lethality against ICE personnel and to maximize property damage at the facility,” Larson said, adding that Jahn hoped to minimize any collateral damage or injury to the detainees and innocent people.
“It’s clear from these notes that he was targeting ICE agents and ICE personnel,” she added, pointing to the “tragic” irony of detainees being injured and killed.
Larson said the writings suggest Jahn hoped his actions would give ICE agents the real terror of being gunned down, inducing constant stress in their lives. The writings also suggest he hoped his actions would terrorize ICE employees and interfere with their work, which he called “human trafficking.”
“What he did is the very definition of terrorism,” Larson said. “Again, his notes reveal, ‘yes, it was just me and my brain,’ and he said, ‘good luck with the digital footprint’.”
Larson added that the statement is suggested to mean Jahn deleted digital evidence from his devices. Among the papers retrieved, she said, was a handwritten note in which Jahn expressed hatred for the federal government using crude words.
Marcos Charles, ICE field office director of Enforcement and Removal Operations, said Jahn used ICE tracking apps designed to locate ICE officers, warning that those who create such apps put law enforcement at risk.
“It’s a casting call to invite bad actors to attack law enforcement officers. It’s no different than giving a hitman the location of their intended target. And this is exactly what we saw happen in Dallas yesterday,” Charles said. “The media has been amplifying these apps, even as we warned them it would only lead to more attacks on law enforcement. We truly wish we didn’t have to say I told you so, but here we are.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph Rothrock said Jahn conducted a “high degree” of pre-attack planning, which included tracking ICE agents and searching for information about the office building.
He said Jahn acknowledged in his notes the potential for other casualties, knowing detainees were likely to be transported that morning.
“Jahn’s attack did, in fact, result in the tragic death of one detainee and the injury to two other detainees,” Rothrock reiterated. “We have been able to confirm that Jahn legally obtained an 8 mm bolt action rifle he used in the shooting in August of this year.”
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Officials confirmed multiple shots were fired but declined to specify how many, citing the ongoing investigation. Authorities also withheld the victims’ identities, saying notifications and cooperation with families are ongoing.
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