AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Two detainees are dead, and another was critically injured early Wednesday morning outside of an Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas. The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Dallas police.
Reactions from state leaders are pouring as the investigation continues. Governor Greg Abbott posted on X that Texas fully supports ICE. “We will offer ICE additional support to assist their operations,” the governor wrote. It’s not clear what additional support the state will provide, but Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard already support ICE in its operational efforts.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R – Texas, was present at the news conference following the shooting. “This needs to stop,” Cruz said to reporters. “Politically-motivated violence is wrong.”
Cruz called on politicians to stop using rhetoric directed at immigration law enforcement. “This has very real consequences. In America, we disagree. That’s fine, that’s the democratic process, but your political opponents are not Nazis,” Cruz said.
State Rep. Cassandra Hernandez, D – Farmers Branch, who represents a small portion of Dallas at the state legislature, said she is heartbroken by the shooting. She said both sides of the political aisle need to do their due diligence in bringing down the rhetoric.
“We’ve seen an uptick of rhetoric here in our country, where now individuals — whether law enforcement, whether just private citizens, whether even undocumented individuals, unfortunately — are getting caught up in the violent rhetoric that’s happening here in our country,” Hernandez said in an interview with Nexstar. “And it’s just it’s very disheartening, and it obviously hits very close to home being here now.”
The Special Agent in Charge with the Dallas FBI, Joe Rothrock, said the attack was an act of “targeted violence” at a news conference. He said one bullet found near the shooter contained messages written on it that were “anti-ICE in nature.”
Kash Patel, the FBI director, posted a picture on his X account following the news conference of unspent ammunition from the crime scene. One of the bullets in the photo has the words “Anti-ICE” written in blue.
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