Authorities have identified the man who opened fire outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, who later died by suicide.
According to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, details about the ongoing investigation remain limited.
Police said Jahn climbed onto a rooftop Wednesday armed with a rifle and began shooting at a bus carrying detainees escorted by federal agents into the ICE facility. Investigators also discovered an unspent shell casing inscribed with “anti-ICE,” signaling his opposition to the immigration agency and its policies under the Trump administration.
The attack left one detainee dead and two others wounded before Jahn turned the gun on himself. No federal officers were injured. Initial reports mistakenly claimed two detainees were killed, but officials later corrected the record.
The shooting underscores the heightened tensions ICE officers face as hostility toward the agency grows. Critics argue that much of this anger is fueled by left-wing activists, media narratives, and Democratic politicians.
Public records show Jahn was a registered Independent who voted in the Democratic primary in 2020. He also had a 2015 arrest for marijuana possession.
Family members, however, say politics never seemed to define him. His older brother, Noah, told local reporters that Jahn “didn’t have strong feelings about ICE” and wasn’t politically active. He added that while Joshua knew how to use a rifle, “he’s not a marksman, that’s for sure.” The brothers grew up in North Texas, and Joshua previously worked as a coder before recently losing his job.
Further scrutiny has also fallen on the family. Old Facebook posts from the shooter’s mother, Sharon Jahn, resurfaced after the incident, revealing sharp criticism of Republican leaders over their support for looser gun laws. In one 2022 post, she blasted Gov. Greg Abbott and Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn after the Uvalde school shooting, accusing them of prioritizing money from gun lobbyists over public safety.
The attack quickly drew national attention. Former President Donald Trump condemned what he called an “unprecedented increase in threats, violence, and attacks” on ICE agents, blaming “radical leftists” for demonizing law enforcement.
“This violence is the result of Radical Left Democrats constantly demonizing ICE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that his administration was committed to securing the border, backing law enforcement, and cracking down on domestic extremist groups.
