Former US Marine Corps reservist charged in Texas immigration detention
center shooting
[July 16, 2025]
By HALLIE GOLDEN
A former U.S. Marine Corps reservist has been arrested and charged with
attempted murder in connection with an attack at a Texas immigration
detention center in which a police officer was shot in the neck, federal
prosecutors said Tuesday.
Benjamin Hanil Song, 32, is the latest person charged in the Fourth of
July assault in which attackers dressed in black military-style clothing
opened fire outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado,
southwest of Dallas, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Northern District of Texas.
Song, from Dallas, was arrested after a weeklong search and has been
charged with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents and
three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of
violence, the office said in a statement. He is accused of purchasing
four of the guns linked to the attack, it said.
U.S. District Court records do not list names of attorneys representing
Song or scheduled court appearances. U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Northern District of Texas did not immediately respond to an email
asking whether Song has an attorney.
The officer wounded in the attack has since been released from the
hospital.
Ten people, most of them from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, have
previously been charged with attempted murder of a federal officer and
discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Another person
has been charged with obstruction of justice for concealing evidence,
while two others were charged with accessory after the fact for
allegedly helping Song get away.
If convicted, most of the defendants could face up to life imprisonment,
while those charged with obstruction of justice and accessory after the
fact would face lesser penalties if convicted, according to federal
prosecutors.
The shooting took place as President Donald Trump ’s administration
ramps up deportations.
The attackers initially set off fireworks and spray-painted vehicles and
a guard structure, including the words “Ice Pig,” according to a
criminal complaint. This was “designed to lure correctional officers
outside the facility,” according to U.S. Attorney’s Office. Correctional
officers called 911 and an Alvarado police officer responded and someone
in the woods opened fire.
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Trucks drive at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas,
Sept. 15, 2016. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News via AP, File)
Another person across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at
correctional officers who were unarmed after they walked out of the
facility, according to the office’s statement.
After the group fled, sheriff’s deputies stopped seven people about
300 yards (275 meters) from where the officer was shot, according to
a criminal complaint.
“They were dressed in black, military-style clothing, some had on
body armor, some were covered in mud, some were armed, and some had
radios,” the complaint said.
A sheriff’s office detective also stopped a van leaving the area and
found two AR-style rifles and a pistol, along with ballistic-style
vests and a helmet, the complaint said.
The driver, the only person in the van, said he had been at the
detention center. He said he had met some people online and drove
some of them to the detention center from Dallas to “make some
noise,” according to the complaint.
Song’s cellphone’s location data shows it was near the detention
center from about 11:30 p.m. on July 4 and throughout the day on
July 5, according to a criminal complaint.
“Though Song escaped by hiding overnight after the attack, we were
confident he would not remain hidden for long,” Acting United States
Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson said in
a statement. “The fourteen individuals who planned and participated
in these heinous acts will be prosecuted, and we expect justice will
be swift.”
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