FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Thursday that Joshua Jahn, the assailant who attacked a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas, Texas, aimed to instill “real terror” in ICE agents and had conducted searches on applications tracking the presence of ICE personnel.
Jahn fired from a rooftop nearby, resulting in the death of one detainee and injuries to two others. He subsequently took his own life when confronted by law enforcement.
Patel stated, “FBI Dallas and FBI HQ have been working 24/7 to seize devices, exploit data, and process writings obtained on location and in the subject’s person/residence/bedroom.” One handwritten note found read, “Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘is there a sniper with AP [armor-piercing] rounds on that roof?'”
Additionally, Patel noted that Jahn searched for ballistics information and a video related to Charlie Kirk between September 23 and 24, as well as apps tracking ICE agents’ locations from August 19 to 24.
Furthermore, the shooter downloaded a document titled “Dallas County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management,” which listed DHS facilities. Patel indicated that evidence suggests a significant level of pre-attack planning.
Reports also revealed that Jahn sought videos about an assassination attempt on Charlie Kirk in Utah prior to the Dallas assault.
Homeland Security reported that Jahn fired his weapon “indiscriminately” at the facility, targeting a transport van where the victims were located. All three detainees were in an unmarked transport vehicle when they were shot, just before Jahn’s suicide around 7 a.m.
Shell casings found at the scene bore anti-ICE messages, and Patel shared an image of these casings on his X account.
Jahn, a resident of a Dallas suburb, had a prior charge related to marijuana delivery from over a decade ago. Court records show that at 19, he delivered more than a fourth of an ounce of marijuana, ultimately pleading guilty with the case deferred and probation imposed. Ryan Sanderson, owner of a legal cannabis farm in Washington state, described Jahn as a young man without direction, living out of his car and working minimum wage jobs in the cannabis industry.
Voter records indicate that Jahn participated in the Democratic primary in March 2020 but has not voted since.
