Sniper Attack on Dallas ICE Facility Leaves Multiple Dead

A sniper opened fire on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas early Wednesday morning, killing at least two detainees and wounding another, before turning the gun on himself. The shocking attack is already fueling fresh debate about safety at federal detention centers and the climate of hostility surrounding immigration under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the incident in a post Wednesday morning, saying there were “multiple injuries and fatalities.” She urged Americans to “pray for the victims and their families,” while acknowledging what she called “unprecedented violence against ICE.”

According to Dallas police, officers received reports just before 6:40 a.m. of gunfire striking the ICE building. Investigators said the gunman positioned himself from an adjacent building and fired into the facility’s sally port — the secured entrance where detainees are transported in and out.

“He appeared to be a sniper from an elevated position,” Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told ABC News. “He fired from a couple hundred yards away, targeting detainees as they were being moved.”

An ICE spokesperson later told NBC News that all three victims were detainees being held at the center. Two died from their injuries, while a third remains hospitalized. No ICE agents were struck.

The violence comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown. Advocates have long warned that the administration’s rhetoric has created a tinderbox atmosphere, leaving ICE facilities both flashpoints of protest and targets of violence.

“This tragedy should remind Americans that these facilities are filled with human beings,” said immigration rights activist Maria Perez of the Texas Justice Project. “People are dying under Trump’s policies — whether it’s from inhumane detention conditions or horrific violence like this. We cannot look away.”

Wednesday’s shooting also follows another alarming incident just last month, when a man carrying what he claimed was a bomb entered the same Dallas ICE facility before being apprehended by authorities.

Residents near the detention center said they were shaken by the rapid response of police and the sound of helicopters overhead. “We woke up to gunfire — it felt like a war zone,” said Dallas resident Jordan Alvarez, who lives two blocks from the ICE complex. “This city doesn’t feel safe anymore.”

Officials have not released the identity of the sniper, and no motive has yet been confirmed.

The Dallas Police Department said the investigation remains active, with federal agencies assisting.