Joshua Jahn, the gunman who opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, died Wednesday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. FBI Director Kash Patel said the 29-year-old had “pre-planned” the attack and had been tracking ICE agents through an application. He also noted that Jahn searched for “Charlie Kirk shot video” in the days leading up to the incident.
Authorities confirmed that Jahn fatally shot one ICE detainee and injured two others. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Nancy Larson, said investigators recovered notes from Jahn’s residence that outlined his motivations.
“It’s clear from these notes that he was targeting ICE agents and personnel,” Larson stated. “He hoped his actions would terrorize ICE employees and disrupt their work, which he referred to as human trafficking. The tragic irony is that a detainee was killed and two others were injured.”
According to Patel, Jahn had downloaded a document titled “Dallas County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management” that included a list of DHS facilities. He also conducted several searches related to ballistics and the “Charlie Kirk Shot Video” between September 23–24, and used apps between August 19–24 to track the presence of ICE agents.
“One of the handwritten notes recovered read, ‘Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?’” Patel said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The accumulated evidence points to a high degree of pre-attack planning.”
What is the ICE tracking app?
Officials did not identify the specific application Jahn used, but similar platforms have drawn attention following immigration raids in Los Angeles and other cities. One such app, ICEBlock, launched in April, has been publicly criticized by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and ICE acting Director Todd M. Lyons, who raised concerns about agent safety.
Joshua Aaron, the developer of ICEBlock, dismissed the criticism as “another right-wing fearmongering scare tactic.” He told NBC News that the app was intended to serve as a resource for immigrants.
“When I saw what was happening in this country, I wanted to do something to help fight back,” Aaron said at the time. “I grew up in a Jewish household and had the chance to meet Holocaust survivors and learn their history. The parallels between what’s happening right now in this country and Hitler’s rise to power are undeniable.”
