Officials said the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and no ICE personnel were among the victims. FBI Director Kash Patel said an anti-ICE message was found on an unspent shell casing.
A shooter killed one person and injured two others at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas on Wednesday morning, Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said at a news conference.
The shooter, whose identity has not been released by authorities, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
Police didn’t provide any other details about the victims but emphasized they didn’t include any law enforcement officers. Still, R. Joseph Rothrock, the special agent in charge of the Dallas office, said that ammunition found near the shooter’s body “contain messages that are anti-ICE in nature.”
“I’m not going to be identifying victims at this time,” Rothrock said. “The only thing I will confirm at this time is, no law enforcement was injured.”
Law enforcement officials at the news conference provided few additional details, but urged the public to tone down the political rhetoric toward immigration officers.
“This needs to stop. Violence is wrong. Politically motivated violence is wrong,” Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said at the news conference. “We should not be putting language out there that inspires madmen.”
FBI Director Kash Patel shared a photo on social media depicting “five unspent shell casings” on the ground, with “ANTI ICE” written on one of them.
Patel, who has been criticized for releasing incorrect information about the assassination of conservative commentator and activist Charlie Kirk, said that even though the Dallas shooting is still under investigation, the “initial review of the evidence shows an idealogical motive behind this attack.”
In a statement, the Dallas Police Department said the preliminary investigation “determined that a suspect opened fire at a government building from an adjacent building.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a post on X that the motive is unclear.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs in the Department of Homeland Security, told Fox News that the victims included detainees. She added that no federal agents were shot.
Vice President JD Vance said on X that “the obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop.”
Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on X that the shooting “will NOT slow our arrest, detention, & deportation of illegal immigrants. We will work with ICE & the Dallas Police Dept. to get to the bottom of the assassin’s motive. We will offer ICE additional support to assist their operations.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also weighed in on X, saying: “We will continue to do everything in our power to combat the alarming increase of targeted attacks against ICE and all law enforcement by evil, twisted individuals.”
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called the incident “horrific,” and said his office is making sure that “all resources are brought to bear in the investigation.”
House Speaker Dustin Burrows echoed that sentiment.
“All acts of violence and intimidation simply cannot be tolerated within our society, whether it be against law enforcement personnel, political figures, or innocent individuals,” he wrote on X. “I am grateful to the law enforcement officers who quickly responded to the shooting in Dallas this morning and continue to work to ensure the safety of everyone at the ICE field office.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, posted on X: “My team and I are closely monitoring the situation at the ICE Detention Facility in Dallas. We are praying for the swift recovery of those injured, and we are deeply grateful to the brave first responders who rushed to the scene.”
Source: Uriel J. García, Colleen DeGuzman and Nicholas Gutteridge, The Texas Tribune
Photo Credit: Joe Rothrock, special agent in charge of the Dallas FBI field office, speaks at a press conference after a fatal shooting at an ICE field office in Dallas on Sept. 24, 2025. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz stands to the left of Rothrock. Credit: Johnathan Johnson for The Texas Tribune.
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