A quiet Wednesday morning outside the Dallas ICE field office turned deadly when 29-year-old Joshua Jahn opened fire from a rooftop on an ICE detainee transport van. Authorities said he killed one detainee and injured two others before taking his own life. Investigators recovered shell casings etched with anti-government phrases, including “ANTI ICE,” which officials called a direct attack on federal law enforcement.
The shooting left communities shaken and leaders reacting swiftly. President Donald Trump condemned the attack as “despicable,” while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned of rising violence against ICE. No ICE personnel were physically harmed, but DHS described the incident as an attack on the agency itself.
As details emerged, Jahn’s family expressed shock, describing him as quiet, unemployed, and “not politically interested.” Public records showed only a minor drug conviction years earlier. Old online accounts tied to him reflected gaming and marijuana culture more than ideology. Friends from high school echoed that picture, saying politics had never defined him.
Witnesses described the chaos as rapid gunfire rang out, forcing shelter-in-place orders and drawing a bomb squad to inspect a suspicious car nearby. By evening, investigators were left with a stark outline but few answers: a rooftop ambush, cryptic shell casings, a family in disbelief, and a community rattled by sudden violence.