President Donald Trump placed responsibility on the “radical left” following Wednesday’s deadly shooting at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, warning that “it’s going to get worse.”
Authorities identified the gunman as Joshua Jahn, 29, who opened fire on an ICE van at the gated entry of the Dallas facility. One detainee was killed and two others critically injured, though no ICE personnel were harmed. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, Jahn left a note stating he hoped the attack would “give ICE agents real terror.”
Patel revealed the details Thursday in a post on X, marking the first indication of the shooter’s motive.
The attack comes just weeks after the fatal rooftop shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University and amid intensified immigration enforcement efforts that have drawn both criticism and fear.
Trump Reacts to Dallas ICE Shooting
Speaking to reporters during a Thursday meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said:
“The radical left is causing the problem … It’s going to get worse and ultimately, it’s going to go back on them. Bad things happen when they play these games. I’ll give you a little clue, the right is a lot tougher than the left and the right is not doing this. And they better not get them energized because it won’t be good for the left.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson echoed his remarks in a statement to Newsweek, saying Trump had already taken decisive steps to counter left-wing violence by designating Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.
On Truth Social, Trump condemned the shooting as “despicable,” highlighting that investigators found shell casings marked with “ANTI-ICE.” He accused “Radical Left Democrats” of encouraging violence through rhetoric demonizing law enforcement, warning that continued attacks from “Radical Left Terrorists” must end. He vowed to expand the use of executive powers to dismantle domestic terror networks.
Who Was Joshua Jahn?
Investigators say Jahn carried out a “high degree of pre-attack planning.” Evidence seized from his Dallas-area residence included electronic devices and handwritten notes. One note read:
“Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?”
Patel said Jahn had also downloaded a document listing Homeland Security facilities, searched online for ballistics data, and reviewed footage of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. In recent weeks, he reportedly researched apps that track ICE agents.
On Wednesday, Patel posted an image of a bullet from the crime scene etched with “ANTI-ICE.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has since ordered increased security at ICE facilities nationwide.
Later that evening, FBI agents searched a suburban Fairview, Texas home tied to Jahn. Neighbors described the scene as unusually tense for their quiet cul-de-sac as agents in FBI jackets collected evidence.
Those who knew Jahn said he had not shown political leanings. A spokesperson for Collin College confirmed he intermittently attended classes between 2013 and 2018. Former employer Ryan Sanderson, who runs a Washington state cannabis farm where Jahn briefly worked in 2017, described him as directionless.
“He’s a young kid, a thousand miles from home, didn’t really seem to have any direction, living out of his car at such a young age,” Sanderson told the AP.
