Updated September 25, 2025 at 4:17 PM EDT
"I want to cause terror," the gunman behind Wednesday's deadly attack on a Dallas ICE immigration facility allegedly wrote in a note, according to authorities.
The 29-year-old gunman, who took his own life, also likely acted alone and had extensively planned Wednesday's deadly attack, according to Justice Department and FBI officials who briefed the media Thursday afternoon.
Officials identified the shooter as Joshua Jahn. In the days leading up to the attack, he researched Department of Homeland Security facilities and the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk ahead of the shooting, FBI Director Kash Patel said separately on social media.
Early Wednesday morning, Jahn fired at the ICE building and at a van, "indiscriminately" hitting and killing one detainee and critically injuring two others, officials said.
One of those hospitalized was a Mexican national, according to Mexico's foreign ministry. DHS said the suspect died of "a self-inflicted" gunshot wound.
Since the shooting, investigators have executed searches at Jahn's home, room and multiple locations in Fairview, Texas, (where the shooter was from) and in Durant, Okla., according to Nancy Larson, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Agents found a collection of notes from Jahn stating explicitly, "Yes, it was just me," Larson said.
These notes also included a game plan of the attack and specific target areas. He wrote hateful messages against ICE employees calling them "people showing up to collect a dirty paycheck," Larson said, quoting from his papers.
She added that Jahn's apparent goal was to create maximum damage against ICE personnel and property and not to hurt detainees.
The gun Jahn bought, an 8mm bolt-action rifle, was purchased legally, officials said during the briefing.
"He hoped his actions would terrorize ICE employees and interfere with their work, which he called human trafficking," Larson said.
Jahn appeared to have no ties to any individuals detained by immigration authorities, officials said.
What we know about the facility
Since the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the agency to increase security at ICE facilities around the country. The post also put blame on rhetoric from the "far-left."
This particular facility is considered an ICE Dallas field office and processing location.
Larson, the acting U.S. attorney, noted that this attack was the third time since she took over her acting role for the district, in which ICE facilities in her region were threatened or attacked.
On July 4th, DHS reported, 10 people were arrested following an organized attack on the ICE Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas. A local law enforcement officer was shot and injured in that incident.
The following month, the agency said a bomb threat was made against the same Dallas facility Jahn targeted. On Aug. 25, an alleged suspect, Bratton Dean Wilkinson,showed up at the entrance of the office claiming to have a bomb in his backpack.
Wilkinson, 36, showed a security officer what he claimed to be a "detonator" on his wrist, DHS said. Wilkinson was eventually taken into custody and charged with making terroristic threats.
What we know about the shooter
According to KERA, the North Texas NPR station, reported public records show Jahn lived in Fairview, a Dallas suburb about 30 miles north of the city. His neighborhood was inundated with police Wednesday afternoon, the station reported.
KERA also reported Jahn had no record of violent crime prior to this attack. In 2016, he was arrested and pleaded guilty to marijuana charges, according to local court records. He was sentenced to 5 years probation and charged $680 in fines and restitution, but was released from probation early a year later.
In a post on X Thursday morning, Patel said investigators have been working around the clock "to seize devices, exploit data, and process writings" collected at the shooting location and in Jahn's home and bedroom.
He said the shooter "downloaded a document titled 'Dallas County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management' " which included a list of DHS facilities, searched multiple times for ballistics and the shooting video of murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk between Sept. 23-24.
From Aug. 19-24, Patel added, the alleged shooter searched apps that tracked the whereabouts of ICE agents.
According to Patel, a handwritten note recovered from this search read, "Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, 'is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?' " "AP" likely refers to "armor-piercing rounds," a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armored cars and body shields.
Bullets uncovered at the scene had "anti-ICE" messages written on them, according to officials.
Larson said Jahn appears to have traveled to the facility at around 3 a.m. with a ladder tied to the top of his car This is what investigators believe he used to climb to the top of a roof to shoot from.
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