Details about the gunman who allegedly killed a detainee before dying by suicide at a Dallas immigration office emerged Thursday as federal officials said anti-immigration enforcement sentiment led to the shooting.
Law enforcement officials identified the gunman in the Wednesday shooting as Joshua Jahn, 29 of Texas. Two other detainees were wounded in the shooting before Jahn died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Several Trump administration officials said rhetoric against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fueled the attack. They also claimed the shooting targeted ICE agents, even though none were wounded.
Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry said one of the wounded is a Mexican citizen and has serious injuries, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.
FBI Director Kash Patel shared a photo on X of a shell casing allegedly found near the shooting that had “anti-ICE” written in blue on the gold-colored ammunition.
An anonymous law enforcement official told the AP the gunman used a bolt-action rifle and shot from the roof of a nearby immigration law office.
Jahn’s brother Noah told NBC News he was surprised to learn about the “anti-ICE” writing on a shell casing. He added that Joshua Jahn didn’t have strong feelings about ICE, to his knowledge.
But in a post on X Wednesday evening, the Department of Homeland Security wrote: “This vile attack was motivated by hatred for ICE.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement Wednesday the agency has warned lawmakers and the media to “tone down” rhetoric about ICE. The shooting should be a wake-up call, she said, to demonstrate that what’s said about the agency has consequences.
“Comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences,” Noem said.
FBI releases information on suspect
Patel wrote on X Thursday that his department has been working around the clock to “seize devices, exploit data, and process writings” found at Jahn’s alleged residence.
Patel said Jahn downloaded a document called “Dallas County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management,” which had a list of DHS facilities; searched ballistics and the assassination video of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; and searched apps that track ICE agents’ presence.
He said agents found a handwritten note that read, “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?’” (“AP” allegedly refers to armor-piercing ammunition.) FBI agents said during a Thursday briefing that other notes suggested Jahn carried out the shooting alone and “didn’t expect to survive.”
However, Patel has faced scrutiny and a congressional hearing on his leadership after he retracted an announcement regarding the arrest of a suspect in Kirk’s killing. Tyler Robinson later turned himself in as the suspect.
“Mr. Patel was so anxious to take credit for finding Mr. Kirk’s assassin that he violated one of the basics of effective law enforcement at critical stages of an investigation — shut up and let the professionals do their job,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Patel at the hearing.
Joshua Jahn’s intentions unknown
Noah Jahn told NBC News that his brother wasn’t interested in politics. He said he would have never thought him to be involved in a politically motivated shooting.
NBC reported Joshua Jahn was registered as an independent in Oklahoma and voted in the 2024 presidential election.
He served five years’ probation in Texas for delivering between 0.25 ounces and 5 pounds of marijuana in 2016, according to Collin County, Texas, court records. He was sentenced to probation through a plea agreement.
Ryan Sanderson, a cannabis farm owner from Washington state, told The Associated Press that Jahn had worked in the cannabis industry in Texas and Washington.
“I don’t remember him being that abnormal,” Sanderson told the news agency. “He didn’t seem to fight with anyone or cause trouble, he kept his head down and stayed working.”
Joshua Jahn grew up in Allen, Texas, about 25 miles northeast of Dallas, and was involved in the Boy Scouts, Noah Jahn said. His brother had been planning to move to their parents’ Oklahoma property, Noah Jahn said, and they were last together about two weeks ago at their parents’ home. At the time, he told NBC News, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
A former fellow Boy Scout troop member, who said he lost touch with Jahn about five years ago, told NBC that his friend had passionate political stances, but was against gun violence.
“So that’s why this is making it even more surprising,” the former scout, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. “He was not somebody that would condone those kind of actions.”
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