Man who fired on ICE facility hated US government, sought to kill
federal agents, officials say
[September 26, 2025]
By SEAN MURPHY and COREY WILLIAMS
DALLAS (AP) — The gunman who opened fire on an Immigration and Customs
Enforcement facility in Dallas hated the U.S. government and wanted to
incite terror by killing federal agents, officials said Thursday,
offering the first hint of a motive in the attack.
Citing handwritten notes found at his suburban home, authorities said
29-year-old Joshua Jahn set out to ambush the agency and then fatally
shot himself following the assault.
The shooting at daybreak Wednesday targeted the ICE office building,
including a van in a gated entryway that held detainees. One detainee
was killed, and two others were critically wounded. No ICE personnel
were hurt.
Jahn “specifically intended to kill ICE agents," firing at vehicles
carrying ICE personnel, federal agents and detainees. "He also fired
multiple shots in the windows of the office building where numerous ICE
employees do their jobs every day,” said Joseph Rothrock, agent in
charge of the FBI's Dallas field office.”
Jahn's notes indicated "that he did not expect to survive this event,”
Rothrock said. “He wanted to cause terror.”
The gunman, who authorities said fired indiscriminately from a nearby
rooftop, was involved in a “high degree of pre-attack planning,” FBI
Director Kash Patel said on the social platform X.
Patel quoted a note that said: “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real
terror, to think, is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?” The
note used an apparent abbreviation for armor-piercing bullets.
The attack happened as heightened immigration enforcement has generated
a backlash against ICE agents and stirred fear in immigrant communities
across the country.
The assailant appeared to have acted alone. Nancy Larson, the acting
U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said investigators
discovered the notes at Jahn's residence. Another note said, “Yes, it
was just me.” Other notes were sharply critical of ICE agents and
indicated he hoped to avoid hurting any detainees.
Investigators have not found that the gunman was a member of any
particular group or entity, Larson said. And while he broadly wrote
about hatred of the federal government, he did not mention any federal
agencies other than ICE, she said.
The gunman had also downloaded a document titled “Dallas County Office
of Homeland Security & Emergency Management” containing a list of
Homeland Security facilities, Patel said.
Hours before the shooting, the assailant conducted multiple internet
searches for ballistics information and video of the assassination of
conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah university campus this
month, Patel said. Last month, the man searched for apps that tracked
the presence of ICE agents, he added.
On Wednesday, Patel posted a photo on social media showing a bullet
found at the scene with “ANTI-ICE” written on it. Homeland Security
Secretary Kristi Noem ordered more security at ICE facilities across the
U.S., according to a post by the DHS on X.
Shooter arrived before dawn with a ladder
The ICE 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.
Jahn was seen driving into the area about 3 a.m. with a large ladder on
top of his vehicle, Larson said. The ladder is believed to have been
used to climb to the roof of a nearby building.
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FBI agents look around a home in Fairview, Texas, that public
records link to a suspected gunman at a U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement office in Dallas, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP
Photo/Julio Cortez)
The gunfire started around 6:30 a.m., Larson said. Shots were
sprayed along the length of the ICE facility, into the windows and
into the van, she said.
Jahn legally obtained the bolt-action rifle used in the shooting in
August, Rothrock said.
He “also acknowledged the potential for other casualties,” Rothrock
said. “He knew with a high likelihood ICE detainees would be
transported that morning in the exact location where he was facing
from his perch” atop the roof.
Following ICE procedures, the detainees were restrained inside the
van, said Marcos Charles, field office director of enforcement and
removal operations for ICE.
“Under gunfire, multiple federal agents ran into that fire to remove
these individuals and to attempt to render lifesaving aid under the
most dire circumstances,” Rothrock said.
Authorities have not released the names of the victims.
Who was the gunman?
Noah Jahn described his brother as “unique” and told NBC News that
the anti-ICE messages were surprising.
“He didn’t have strong feelings about ICE as far as I knew,” Noah
Jahn said. “He wasn’t interested in politics on either side as far
as I knew.”
He said the two grew up about 30 miles away in Allen, Texas, and
that his brother took an interest in coding but was unemployed. Noah
Jahn said he last saw his brother two weeks ago at their parents’
house and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
A spokesperson for Collin College in nearby McKinney, said via email
that a Joshua Jahn studied there “at various times” between 2013 and
2018.
In late 2017, Jahn drove cross-country to work a minimum-wage job
harvesting marijuana for several months, said Ryan Sanderson, owner
of a legal cannabis farm in Washington state.
ICE has been targeted elsewhere
Noem noted a recent uptick in targeting of ICE agents.
On July 4, attackers in black, military-style clothing opened fire
outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of
Dallas, federal prosecutors said. One police officer was wounded. At
least 11 people have been charged in connection with the attack.
Days later, a man with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at
federal agents leaving a Border Patrol facility in McAllen. The man,
identified as Ryan Louis Mosqueda, injured a responding police
officer before authorities shot and killed him.
___
Williams reported from Detroit. Associated Press journalists Jack
Brook in New Orleans; Mike Balsamo in New York; Alanna Durkin Richer
in Washington; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; and Tim Sullivan in
Minneapolis contributed to this report.
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