The person who opened fire on an immigration facility in Texas was targeting ICE agents and did not intend to harm detainees, officials say notes he wrote indicate.
One detainee was killed and two others critically injured after a suspected sniper opened fire at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centre in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday.
The suspected gunman, identified as 29-year-old Joshua Jahn of Fairview, Texas, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, law enforcement officials said.
Tensions around ICE facilities have escalated in recent months amid a Trump administration push to significantly increase deportations as part of a wider crackdown on illegal immigration.
Investigators said notes on the attack found at Jahn’s Fairview home showed he viewed the work of ICE as “human trafficking”, and that he appeared to have no relationship with any detainee.
They said the solar panel installer had used a ladder from the top of his car to climb onto a rooftop before opening fire.
Acting US attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Nancy Larson, told a news conference on Thursday that the notes – which included a “gameplan” for the attack – showed Jahn intended to “maximise lethality against ICE personnel and to maximise property damage at the facility”.
She said: “He hoped to minimise any collateral damage or injury to the detainees and any other innocent people.
“It seems that he did not intend to kill the detainees or harm them. It is clear from these notes that he was targeting ICE agents and ICE personnel.”
The victims have not yet been identified. But Mexico’s foreign ministry has said one injured detainee was a Mexican national.
Officials said that no law enforcement officers were injured or killed during the shooting.
FBI director Kash Patel said in an earlier post on social media that evidence indicated “a high degree of pre-attack planning”.
Patel said one of the handwritten notes found said: “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?'”
Ms Larson said the shooter “very likely acted alone”, adding that the suspected shooter had described ICE employees as “people showing up to collect a dirty pay check”.
She said the shooter had hoped his actions would “terrorise ICE employees and interfere with their work”.
“What he did is the very definition of terrorism,” Ms Larson added.
No evidence was found to suggest Jahn was a member of any specific group, and the shooter did not mention any specific government agency other than ICE, she said – but he did express a hatred of the federal government.
She also praised ICE and other federal agents she said worked under fire to remove detainees from vans and get them to safety.
FBI special agent Joe Rothrock said the shooter “specifically intended to kill ICE agents”, firing at transport vehicles carrying ICE personnel, federal and detainees, he said.
“Jahn also acknowledged the potential for other casualties. He knew with a high likelihood ICE detainees would be transported that morning in the exact location where he was facing from his perch on a nearby rooftop,” Mr Rothrock said.
“The clearest motivations at this point are the harm he wanted to cause to ICE. We’re not aware of any specific relationships he had with anybody in detention,” Mr Rothrock said, but noted the investigation was ongoing.
Jahn’s handwritten notes indicate “he did not expect to survive this event”, the agent said.
Marcos Charles, ICE field office director of enforcement and removal operations, said “violent rhetoric” against ICE had to stop.
“In contrast to those who would demonise our men and women, yesterday our brave officers ran back into danger” alongside other federal agents to save detainees, he said.
Mr Charles added that the shooter used apps designed to track ICE officers, and said those producing and distributing them were “well aware of the dangers that they are exposing” officers to.
