At least one dead and several injured in attack on ICE detention center in Dallas

Several people were injured in an assault recorded at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center in Dallas, Texas, early Wednesday morning. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that multiple injuries and fatalities have been reported in the incident.

The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Noem.

"There was a shooting this morning at the ICE Detention Center in Dallas. Details are still being released, but we can confirm that there were multiple injuries and fatalities. (...) While we still do not know the motive, we know that ICE law enforcement is facing unprecedented violence. This must stop. Please pray for the victims and their families," the security secretary wrote on the X social network.

Vice President J.D. Vance also repudiated the attack on digital platforms just minutes after the news broke.

"The obsessive targeting of law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop. I pray for all those injured in this attack and for their families," he commented quoting Noem also on X.

The attack, according to local press reports and authorities, reportedly occurred as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were moving a group into the detention center.

"This morning just before 7am local time, an individual fired multiple rounds at a Dallas, Texas ICE facility, killing one, wounding several others, before taking his own life. FBI, DHS, ATF are on the ground with Dallas PD and state authorities. While the investigation is ongoing, an initial review of the evidence shows an idealogical motive behind this attack (see photo below). One of the unspent shell casings recovered was engraved with the phrase “ANTI ICE.” More updates will be forthcoming," Kash Patel, the FBI Director, detailed on X an hour later.

Patel recalled that "these despicable politically motivated attacks on law enforcement are not an isolated case. We are just miles away from Prarieland, Texas, where just two months ago an individual ambushed another ICE facility against its officers. This has to stop."

The federal investigations official said in his message that "fortunately, no law enforcement officers were injured" in the attack, and that the injured and deceased were people who had been arrested.

ICE acting director Todd Lyons also confirmed to CNN the shooting and said that "preliminary information indicates a possible sniper." According to reports, the shooter was a white male on the rooftop of a building who killed himself when law enforcement arrived.

History of violence with ICE

The United States pursues a severe policy against irregular migration and in recent months has stepped up detainments and deportations. ICE is the main government agency responsible for fulfilling President Trump's campaign promise to remove millions of undocumented immigrants from the country.

After ICE immigration raids in Los Angeles sparked riots and protests earlier this year, Trump sent the National Guard and Marines to the California city.

Another ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas, was the target of an attack in July that left a police officer injured in the neck. Ten people have been charged for their involvement in this attack.