WASHINGTON – This morning, a sniper opened fire from a nearby rooftop on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Dallas field office. The shooter fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport where the victims were shot. Three detainees were shot. Two are deceased, and the other is in critical condition. The gunman was found with a self-inflicted gun wound.
The shell casings were found with anti-ICE messages on them. This was an attack on ICE law enforcement.
“Our prayers are with the families of those killed and our ICE law enforcement. This vile attack was motivated by hatred for ICE,” said Secretary Noem. “For months, we’ve been warning politicians and the media to tone down their rhetoric about ICE law enforcementbefore someone was killed. This shooting must serve as a wake-up call to the far-left that their rhetoric about ICE has consequences. Comparing ICE Day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols has consequences. The men and women of ICE are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, we just want to go home to our families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop. We are praying for the victims and their families.” This is not the first attack on this facility. Last month, there was a bomb threat on the facility. An unknown male subject, later identified as Bratton Dean Wilkinson, a 36-year-old U.S. citizen, arrived at the reporting entrance of the Dallas Field Office and claimed to have a bomb in his backpack at approximately 6:37 pm local time. The subject showed the security officer what he claimed to be a “detonator” on his wrist. A shelter-in-place was issued for the facility. The officer called 911 and local police responded with a bomb squad. Wilkinson was taken into custody by local law enforcement and charged with making terroristic threats.
