A deadly sniper attack struck a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in northwest Dallas on September 24, 2025, when a gunman fired from a nearby rooftop into the facility’s sally port, fatally wounding detainees before turning the weapon on himself. Law enforcement scrambled to secure the scene and multiple agencies, including the FBI and DHS, rushed to the site as frightened civilians and employees sheltered in place.
Authorities and local reporting have identified the shooter as 29?year?old Joshua Jahn of Collin County, who reportedly fired down into a transport van from the roof of an adjacent building used by an immigration attorney. Officials described the attack as a targeted assault on the ICE facility, with the shooter later found dead from an apparent self?inflicted wound.
Initial official statements about the number of victims were inconsistent, with an early DHS release saying two detainees had died and a third was critical, before federal and local agencies later corrected the count to one detainee killed and two others critically injured. That confusion only underscores the chaos of the scene and the need for clear, competent communication from government agencies in moments of crisis.
Investigators recovered ammunition at the scene that bore anti?ICE messaging, a detail the FBI shared publicly as it called the shooting an act of targeted, ideologically motivated violence. When someone literally labels their rounds “ANTI?ICE,” this is not peaceful protest — it is premeditated political violence that crosses every line of civilized debate.
This vile episode fits into a worrying pattern of rising attacks on federal immigration facilities and officers across the state, incidents that public?safety leaders have repeatedly warned about. Lawmakers and DHS officials have pointed to a string of recent incidents and demanded action to protect personnel and the public, but talk without hard protections will not stop snipers or cowards who weaponize political rage.
There must be accountability for the culture of dehumanization that normalizes violence against law enforcement and federal officers, and there must be consequences when rhetoric crosses into direct targeting. Political leaders of every stripe should stop fanning flames for clicks and instead support real security upgrades, increased prosecutions for politically motivated crimes, and better cooperation between federal, state, and local law enforcement.
Practical steps are overdue: hardened perimeters at vulnerable federal sites, improved surveillance of adjacent structures, and urgent reviews of how detainee movements are protected during transfers. Conservatives who believe in law and order should be unafraid to demand both toughness against violence and fidelity to due process — protecting officers and detainees alike does not require abandoning the rule of law.
This morning’s slaughter was a brutal reminder that words have power and an untethered political climate invites extremists to act. The families of the victims, the ICE employees who face daily risks, and the American public deserve a sober national response that prioritizes security, deters political violence, and reaffirms that attacking government servants and institutions will not be tolerated.
