Gunfire cut through a quiet Wednesday morning outside the Dallas ICE field office, and within minutes a routine detainee transport turned into a fatal ambush. Authorities later identified the rooftop shooter as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, who opened fire on an ICE van “indiscriminately,” killing one detainee and injuring two others before turning the weapon on himself, officials said. Investigators recovered shell casings nearby—some etched with anti-government phrases. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, at least one casing was marked
“ANTI ICE,”
with others bearing messages “anti-ICE in nature.” No ICE personnel were physically hurt, but the Department of Homeland Security called it
“an attack on ICE law enforcement,”
underscoring the gravity of firing on a federal operation.
As the scene cleared, fragments of the gunman’s background began to surface, offering few easy answers. The University of Texas at Dallas confirmed that someone matching Jahn’s name and birthdate briefly attended more than a decade ago. Two former friends, who asked not to be named, remembered a teenager more into gaming than politics. One told ABC News
Old online traces appeared to match that picture: a long-dormant Reddit account chatting about marijuana and gaming culture, and a Steam profile tallying more than 10,000 hours across titles like Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Rust.
National leaders weighed in swiftly. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social:
“I have been briefed on the deadly shooting at the ICE Field Office in Dallas, Texas… It has now been revealed the [sic] deranged shooter wrote ‘Anti-ICE’ on his shell casings. This is despicable!”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X that while motive remained unclear,
“our ICE law enforcement is facing unprecedented violence against them. It must stop. Please pray for the victims and their families.”
Inside Jahn’s family, shock eclipsed politics. Reached at her suburban Dallas home, his mother, Sharon, could barely speak through tears:
“I’m sorry, I can’t talk to you right now.”
His brother, Noah, described Joshua as
