Published on
•Updated
At least two people have been killed and one other critically injured in a shooting on Wednesday at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas, authorities said.
The suspected gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Dallas Police Department said it responded to reports of the shooting at the ICE field office in northwest Dallas at about 6:40 am local time (1:40 pm CEST).
“The preliminary investigation determined that a suspect opened fire at a government building from an adjacent building,” the police said. “Two people were transported to the hospital with gunshot wounds. One victim died at the scene. The suspect is deceased.”
The shooter was found dead on the roof of a nearby building, local media reported.
Dallas police chief Daniel Comeaux said later in a press conference on Wednesday that the FBI is investigating the incident as an act of targeted violence.
Early evidence suggests rounds of ammunition found near the gunman contained messages that were “anti-ICE in nature,” he said.
Dozens of emergency vehicles were seen along a highway near the facility on Wednesday morning. Traffic cameras near the scene show six lanes of a usually busy freeway completely empty, with cars ground to a halt on an interstate exit.
“The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop. I’m praying for everyone hurt in this attack and for their families,” US Vice-President JD Vance said on X.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott also wrote a post on X that framed the incident as an attack on ICE.
However, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin later told Fox News that no ICE agents were injured.
“Detainees were among the victims of the shooting,” she said.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier said the motive remained unclear but noted there has been an uptick in targeting of ICE agents.
An attack on 4 July at a Texas immigration detention centre injured a police officer, who was shot in the neck. Attackers dressed in black military-style clothing opened fire outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas, federal prosecutors said. At least 11 people have been charged in connection with the attack.
In another incident, a man with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents as they were leaving a US Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, on 7 July.
The man, identified as Ryan Louis Mosqueda, injured a police officer who responded to the scene before authorities shot and killed him. Police later found other weaponry inside his car.
Additional sources • AP
