International

Police block off the street close to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office after a reported shooting, in Dallas on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025.

AP Photo/Julio Corte

What we know about the suspect and victims in the Dallas shooting

By The Canadian Press

Published 12:47 PDT, Thu September 25, 2025

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A gunman fired upon a Dallas immigration field office from a nearby roof Wednesday morning, killing one detainee and critically wounding two others before taking his own life in what authorities called an indiscriminate attack on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

All three victims were in a transport van outside the facility at the time, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. Authorities said the shooter was involved in a “high degree of pre-attack planning,” hated the U.S. government and wanted to incite terror by killing federal agents.

The attack is the latest public, targeted killing in the U.S. and comes two weeks after conservative leader Charlie Kirk was killed by a rifle-wielding shooter on a roof. After the shooting in Dallas, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ordered increased security at ICE facilities nationwide.

Here are some of the things to know about the shooting.

Who are the victims?

All three were detainees, but officials have not released any additional information about their identities. Marcos Charles, the acting head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, said the victims had been restrained and "could not leave the van on their own,” something that he said was “proper procedure for transport.”

Mexico's foreign affairs ministry said one of the wounded was from Mexico and was hospitalized with serious injuries. The consulate reached out to the family to offer support and legal help, it said.

No law enforcement officers were injured, even though some officers rushed to remove detainees from transport vans during the attack, officials said.

Who was the shooter?

Authorities say the gunman, 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and appears to have acted alone.

FBI agents could be seen Wednesday afternoon at a house in suburban Dallas that public records link to Jahn.

Jahn briefly worked at a Texas-based solar company and in the marijuana industry, including a stint in Washington in 2017, said Ryan Sanderson, owner of a legal cannabis farm in that state. Jahn slept in his car during that time, he added.

“He was lost, and I didn’t expect him to be crazy,” Sanderson told AP. “Didn’t really seem to have any direction, living out of his car at such a young age.”

“I don’t remember him being that abnormal, he didn’t seem to fight with anyone or cause trouble, he kept his head down and stayed working,” Sanderson said.

In 2016, Jahn pleaded guilty to felony charges of marijuana delivery, according to court records in Collin County, Texas. He served five years' probation.

Authorities said the gunman in the Dallas shooting used a bolt-action rifle.

What was the motive?

The FBI on Wednesday said ammunition found at the scene had anti-ICE messaging, and FBI Director Kash Patel released a photo on social media showing a bullet with the words “ANTI-ICE” written on it.

Charles said at a news conference Thursday that “the evidence is clear this was intended as an assault on ICE personnel.” Detainees were not Jahn's intended targets, authorities said.

Officials repeatedly cited writings that had been found at the shooter's home, saying Jahn had written that he intended to “incite terror.”

“He hoped his actions would terrorize ICE employees and interfere with their work, which he called ‘human trafficking,'” said Nancy E. Larson, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Investigators also said the shooter researched DHS facilities and used apps that track ICE agents.

Where did the shooting occur?

The shooting occurred at the local field office in Dallas, where agents conduct short-term processing of people in custody. The victims may have been recently arrested by ICE.

Authorities say Jahn used a ladder to get to the rooftop of a nearby building, where he fired his shots from.

ICE facilities have varying security levels, with some heavily secured and others more exposed.

John Torres, a former acting director of the agency, says facilities like the one in Dallas have vulnerabilities, including exposed loading areas for detainee buses.

The Dallas facility is along Interstate 35 East, just southwest of Dallas Love Field, a large airport serving the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, and blocks from hotels catering to airport travelers.

What other recent attacks have there been at ICE facilities?

On July 4, a police officer was shot in the neck at a Texas immigration detention center. 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.

On July 7, 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, which abuts Mexico. 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 in his car.

– R.J. Rico, The Associated Press