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Federal Investigators Give Update on Deadly ICE Facility Shooting. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 25, 2025 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: ... obviously alluding without calling it by name, President Trump and the United States -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Bill Weir, thank you so much for that reporting.

President Trump is demanding an investigation into what he is calling, quote, triple sabotage during his visit to the United Nations.

In a social media post, he wrote in part, quote, A real disgrace took place at the United Nations yesterday. Not one, not two, but three very sinister events.

The sinister events he's referencing involved a stopped escalator, a broken teleprompter, and audio issues inside the room. A spokesperson for the UN Secretary General says that they've ordered a thorough investigation, and he conveyed that the UN is ready to cooperate in full transparency with relevant U.S. authorities on this matter to determine what caused the incidents referred to by the United States.

So at any minute, we are expecting to hear from federal investigators on that deadly shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas. We're going to bring that to you live. Let's actually go there right now in Dallas. Let's listen in.

KATHERINE MILLER, ACTING PAO, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS: Good afternoon. I'm Katherine Miller. I'm the acting PAO for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas. And we welcome here you here this afternoon.

At the podium today is Nancy Larson, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, and she's joined by Joseph Rothrock, the special agent in charge of the FBI, Dallas. With him is Marcus Marcos Charles, the acting executive associate director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. We also have Josh Johnson, the acting field office director, ERO Operations, Dallas Field Office, Travis Pickard, special agent in charge of HSI Dallas, and Benny Mims, special agent in charge of ATF Dallas.

At the back I will be putting a sign in sheet for all media, so please, before you leave add your information so that we have that. And following the remarks, we will have a brief period for questions and answers. Please remember to identify yourself and your media affiliation when you ask a question.

And with that, I'll turn it over to acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson.

NANCY LARSON, ACTING UNITED STATES ATTORNEY FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for being here today. This is the third time in my short four month tenure as the acting United States Attorney for this district where we have suffered violent attacks and threats at ICE facilities.

First, you'll recall July 4th, 2024, the violent attack on the Prairie Land facility in Alvarado, Texas. The second occurred on August 25th, 2024, when Bratton Dean Wilkinson, who stands charged by federal complaint, pretended to have a bomb. He showed up at the ICE facility with a backpack and something that looked like a detonator on his wrist and threatened the facility.

Third, of course, is yesterday's attack, September 24th, 2025, when the Dallas ICE facility was riddled with gunfire, costing the life of 1 detainee and injuring two other detainees critically.

Initially, I want to commend the cooperation of the Dallas Police Department, the Dallas County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, the ATF, ICE, And HSI for their swift and decisive response to this crime. Members of these agencies quickly secured the scene and the evidence and worked tirelessly to determine any continuing threat. Due to their efforts, it did not take long to ascertain the identity of the shooter, who was deceased by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. And that he very likely acted alone. His name is Joshua Yahn, 29 of Fairview, TX.

Let me just review a very brief summary of the timeline of yesterday's attack. We believe at some point three o'clock in the morning that the suspect was seen driving on footage with a large ladder on his car. And we believe that that is what he used to position himself on top of the building.

[14:35:00]

The shooting itself started at approximately 6:30 a.m. After the shooting started, Dallas Police Department arrived en masse, secured the scene. Law enforcement officers found the sniper dead. They found bullets on the rooftop, one of which was labeled with the words "anti ICE."

That morning, gunshots sprayed the length of the building, the windows and law enforcement vans that were in the Sallyport area. Detainees were struck by these bullets, one was killed, two were wounded, and both of them are undergoing treatment.

Shortly thereafter, the FBI began its meticulous work at the crime scene. At the same time, we obtained and executed multiple search warrants yesterday for devices and locations associated with the sniper. FBI agents executed a search warrant at the sniper's residence yesterday and there found a collection of notes.

First, I want to point out that one of these notes or papers, the sniper explicitly states, yes, it was just me. That statement appears to be correct at this point in the investigation. Notably, these loose notes included a game plan of the attack and target areas at the facility.

He called the ICE employees people showing up to collect a dirty paycheck. He wrote that he intended to maximize lethality against ICE personnel and to maximize property damage at the facility. He hoped to minimize any collateral damage or injury to the detainees and any other innocent people. It seems that he did not intend to kill the detainees or harm them. It's clear from these notes that he was targeting ICE agents and ICE personnel.

The tragic irony for his evil plot here is that it was a detainee who was killed and two other detainees that were injured when he fired into the sallyport. He also hoped his actions would give ICE agents real terror of being gunned down, and he did this to induce constant stress in their lives. He hoped his actions would terrorize ICE employees and interfere with their work, which he called human trafficking. And this, what he did, is the very definition of terrorism.

Again, his notes reveal yes, it was just me and my brain. And he said good luck with the digital footprint. And of course we take this to mean that he deleted evidence from his devices. His words were definitively anti ICE. That said, we did not find evidence of membership in any specific group or entity. Nor did he mention any specific government agency other than ICE.

Among his papers, though, was a handwritten note in which, in crude words, he expressed his hatred for the federal government.

Finally, I want to address the heroism of our federal agents yesterday. While under fire, ICE agents and ATF agents, who were also present in the facility sallyport area, worked together to remove detainees from the vans and get them to safety while the bullets were flying. These agents were heroic, clearly willing to lay down their lives to save the lives of the detainees in their custody. And that's an extremely important point to make at this point in time.

I want to express my deepest appreciation for the bravery of these law enforcement officers yesterday and every single day that they go out there to keep us safe. I'll now turn it over to FBI agent -- FBI special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office, Joe Rothrock. Thank you.

JOSEPH ROTHROCK, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI DALLAS: Good afternoon. First, I'd like to start by thanking our acting United States Attorney, Nancy Larson, and her office for their support during this investigation. My name is Joe Rothrock, and I'm the special agent in charge of the FBI's Dallas Field Office.

Yesterday morning, Joshua Yahn carried out a targeted ambush style attack on law enforcement. Today, I will provide you with some updates.

[14:40:00] Yesterday morning, Joshua Yahn carried out a targeted ambush style attack on law enforcement. Today I will provide you with some updates of what we've learned through our investigation to date to include Yahn's own words in his handwritten notes. Yahn specifically intended to kill ICE agents. He fired at transport vehicles carrying ICE personnel, federal agents and detainees. He also filed multiple shots into the windows of the office building, where numerous ICE employees do their jobs every day.

We now know that Yahn engaged in significant high degree of pre attack planning. He searched for information about the about the building and how to track ICE agents locations. Yahn also acknowledged the potential for other casualties. He knew with a high likelihood ICE detainees would be transported that morning in the exact location where he was facing from his perch on a nearby rooftop.

Yahn's attack did in fact result in the tragic death of one detainee and and the injury to two other detainees.

We have been able to confirm that Yahn legally obtained an 8 millimeter bolt action rifle he used in the shooting in August of this year. Based on our investigation to date, we believe Yahn acted alone, but I'll stress our investigation continues.

This attack yet again underscores the dangers that law enforcements face daily. We continue to see an increased threats against law enforcement. This is the second attack in recent months on ICE facilities here in North Texas.

I do want to take this opportunity to thank our law enforcement partners, some of them -- some of whom are here with us today. When Yahn began firing, agents from both ICE and the ATF put themselves in the line of fire to move individuals off the transportation vehicles in an attempt to protect and rescue those that were injured, I want to thank them for their bravery.

The Dallas Police Department and the Dallas County Sheriff's Office also quickly responded to the scene without any hesitation and ran towards danger. Ultimately, they located the shooter who was deceased by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. I want to thank them for their prompt response and dedication to protecting and serving their communities.

I also want to thank our partners that have assisted in this investigation. The Fairview Police Department, as well as our partners in Oklahoma to include Bryant County Sheriff's Department, Durant Police Department, and Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police, as well as our personnel from San Antonio and Oklahoma City within the FBI that assisted.

The FBI has dedicated its entire breadth of resources to ensure this investigation is completed thoroughly. The FBI stands with our law enforcement partners. And today we expressed that the attacks against law enforcement officers will not be tolerated. While we believe Yahn acted alone, we are still asking that anyone with information about Yahn or his activities report that to the FBI at 1-800 call FBI or at www.fbi.gov/Dallas ERO shooting. And with that, I will turn it over to Director Charles.

MARCOS CHARLES, FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR OF ENFORCEMENT AND REMOVAL OPERATIONS: Good afternoon. My name is Marcos Charles. I am the ICE Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations.

The attack on ICE's Dallas field office yesterday was tragic. And while our hearts and prayers are with the family of the detainees who were shot, the evidence is clear that this was intended as an assault on ICE personnel who come to work every day to do their job. Violent rhetoric has led to over 1,000 percent increase in assaults on ICE officers, and it has to stop.

In contrast to those who would demonize our men and women, yesterday, our brave officers ran back into danger, along with ATF, our partners, to save the detainees while shots were still being fired. Those ICE officers just showed the world who they really are. Law enforcement officers who want the best for our country. That's ICE. Integrity, courage, excellence. They were willing to put their lives on the line to pull detainees out of the transport van to get them to safety. They are heroes, and I hope the media has the integrity to shine a light on this story. Enough is enough with the harmful lies and violent rhetoric, it has to stop.

[14:45:00]

The shooter used the ICE tracking apps. Anyone who creates or distributes these apps that is designed to spot, track, and locate ICE officers are well aware of the dangers that they are exposing to law enforcement. It's a casting call to invite bad actors to attack law enforcement officers. It's no different than giving a hitman the location of their intended target, and this is exactly what we saw happen in Dallas yesterday.

The media has been amplifying these apps even as we warned them it would only lead to more attacks on law enforcement. We truly wish we didn't have to say, I told you so. But here we are. ICE continues to prioritize the safety and security of our personnel, detained aliens, and facilities. We will do everything possible to increase security to counter the increased wave of these lethal attacks.

Again, we call on those who foment violence and vilify our law enforcement officers to cease the dangerous rhetoric. We also call on law-abiding Americans everywhere to report any suspicious activity.

The individual that was out there yesterday shooting at our agents and our officers was trying to take the lives of law enforcement people doing their job. Instead, he killed two -- or killed a detainee and shot two others. That is something that's unacceptable.

The The rhetoric that's out there on social media, the rhetoric that is being said by some community leaders in other states, needs to stop. There's been an increase in violence against ICE agents, not only in Texas and Dallas, but across the country in violent protests. Again, I ask everybody just stop. Thank you.

LARSON: So We're going to open it up to questions now. So if you have a question, we'll direct it to the appropriate person.

SEAN MURPHY, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Sean Murphy with the Associated Press. Can you tell an estimate of how many shots were fired and how he was able to get those off so quickly with the bulk action.

ROTHROCK: Yes, So what I'll how I'll answer that at this point again, I'll just remind you this is an ongoing investigation. The the ICE facility, the ICE office really it's it is a business office. This is where business is done on a daily basis by our partners at ICE. That that is still an active crime scene. We are -- we still have personnel out there. As I mentioned earlier in my remarks, we brought in resources from San Antonio, Oklahoma City, obviously our own FBI resources here in Dallas as well as folks from our lab because we are going to do a thorough and exhaustive investigation and make sure that we have a full accounting of all the evidence that's at that scene. Again, those efforts are ongoing at this time. I'm going to go here real quick.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) transported to what happened to them?

ROTHROCK: So the, are you, you're referring to detainees that were not injured?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct. And if you could give us an update on the ones that aren't injured, identities and functionalities.

ROTHROCK: So I won't be providing any updates at this time on the identities of the detainees that were injured. ICE has a process from notifications to consulate and to next of kin. That process is ongoing, and so we'll defer to our ICE counterparts at some point to determine when it's the right time to release that information.

The other detainees remain safe. They are victims as well of this violent crime, and they are people that we are actively interviewing as part of our investigation.

Right here to the front.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Larson had referenced anti-government, anti- federal government statements that Mr. Yahn had made. Is there any more information you all can release about what exactly was in those writings?

ROTHROCK: The clearest motivation for this attack are his own words. In his handwritten notes, he says, I want to cause terror. He doesn't want to just impact the ICE agents and the law enforcement agents that were carrying out that mission yesterday. He wants to impact ICE agents and law enforcement across the country. Again, his words caused terror for those employees across the country.

Over here.

SHANNON MILLER, NBC DFW: Shannon Miller with NBC DFW. Any indication how long the suspect had been planning this attack? ROTHROCK: Again, as I referenced in my remarks, this is a significant pre planning months in advance. We know that he obtained the firearm in August. We also know that he was looking at a number of DHS facilities and he had downloaded that information. He was looking at the apps as as my counterpart mentioned to see where ICE agents would be. So this was not -- this was not something that just occurred yesterday. It came to a conclusion yesterday, but this is something months in the -- in the making.

PRISCILLA THOMPSON, NBC NETWORK NEWS: Priscilla Thompson with NBC Network News. From what we've heard, this person was not particularly political. Was there anything that you all have found in terms of an inciting incident that led him to come with this attack?

ROTHROCK: Unfortunately, the challenge with these mass casualty incidents is people can be motivated to violence by any number of grievances. In this case, the clear syndication of motivation are his own words. He wanted to cause terror. He wanted to -- he wanted to harm ICE personnel.

[14:50:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Latino Radio. The deceased shooter, did he have a relation with somebody who had been detained by ICE or mistreated by ICE for him to act this way?

ROTHROCK: Again, the clearest motivations at this point are the harm he wanted to cause to ICE. We're not aware of any specific relationships he had with anybody in detention. But again, our investigation is ongoing. We're going to unturn every stone here, and so that continues.

Sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CBS News. Secretary Noem has asked for increased security at ICE facilities across the country. Can you say what is going to be done to harden these facilities to protect agents and detainees?

ROTHROCK: So I cannot say what will be done by our partners at DHS to harden their facilities. What I can say and I can draw upon just our recent experiences here in North Texas is we've seen attacks now, two ambush styles attacks where law enforcement was the target of individuals who did significant preplanning and coordination to set up law enforcement again in an ambush style attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything that they physically are going to do for these facilities since they're still operating to protect them, there's still no barrier up or anything like that at this facility.

ROTHROCK: I would need to refer to my partner's device from that.

CHARLES: Yes. So currently, we're looking at hardening some of our facilities. Also, I don't want to give away any operational security as to how we're going to be doing that. But there are plans to harden some of our facilities. Back there. ROBBIE OWENS, CBS NEWS, TEXAS: Robbie Owens, CBS News, Texas. Was the Yahn family immigrants?

ROTHROCK: Mr. Yahn was not an immigrant. He was a United States citizen. He was here legally. I won't be going into the details of any on anybody other than Mr. Yahn at this time. Ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You talked a little bit about the ICE agents or the agents that were there at the location that helped him once shots were moving into a fire. Can you give us some more perspective on what the situation was with the detainees that were in finance. Were they handcuffed? Were they shackled? Why weren't they able to get out of the vehicle by themselves?

ROTHROCK: Again, these were individuals that were detained by law enforcement. There were multiple transport vehicles at the -- at the facility at the time at that time. Again, what I would stress at this point is under gunfire, multiple federal agents, you know, ran into that fire to remove these individuals and to attempt to, you know, render life saving aid under, you know, the the most dire circumstances.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

CHARLES: They were being -- the individuals in the vans were being restrained. It's a proper procedure for transport. The individuals that are brave men and women that went out there to go help and rescue were the ones that were injured and could not leave the van on their own.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know that that's common that you because we've seen obviously transports before, so just we just wanted clarity to understand why they weren't able to leave on their own.

CHARLES: The other individuals that were in the van were able to leave on their own. It was the ones that were injured were unable to exit the vehicle.

Sir, you, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you guys gotten any cooperation from the suspects family and and this idea that the anti government federal government attitude. Have any family members expressed any, any signs that, you know, we knew that this was happening or was this just all kept?

CHARLES: Back to you sir.

ROTHROCK: You know, as is common in these investigations of mass casualty incidents, we are going to interview everybody we can identify that might have information about the motivations or who might have information about the preplanning or who may have assisted in this attack. I won't be outlining every interview we conducted today. But we will be doing a thorough investigation.

And again, one of the reasons we asked for additional information for the public is if there are those out there that had contact with Yahn, we would like to hear from them and we would like to gain an understanding of what their relationship was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

ROTHROCK: I won't be going into details about other aspects of the investigation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you expand on why you believe that he acted alone here and can you go into it all any activity he may have had in online forums or communities that may have influenced his action.

ROTHROCK: So again, the totality of our investigation includes interviews, you know, canvassing areas, collecting surveillance video. We're certainly looking at his digital footprint online as well as digital devices. I'm not going to outline the details from every one of those. Again, his own words called out that he committed this act alone and all the evidence we have to date would indicate that that's accurate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ALEX WITH FOX FOUR NEWS. You mentioned that the ICE facility, I believe, is still an active crime scene. Can you talk about what will happen in the coming days with that facility? Are there detainees being held there? Have they all been taken away? Is it operational as an office?

ROTHROCK: It is going to remain an active crime scene for some time. Again, we will be there as long as it takes to make sure that we've captured every piece of physical evidence.

[14:55:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Dallas Observer. You mentioned the one bullet that was found with kind of ideological writing on it. Have any of the bullets found around the scene have any writing on them or is it just the one?

ROTHROCK: Again active crime scene? We're still collecting physical evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ABC News. Around the crime scene, when this car was actually being towed, there was some writings on that vehicle. Can you give us a sense about what those were and how they play in your investigation?

ROTHROCK: So the vehicle was searched as part of our investigation. I don't have additional details to share with you now about any writings, but certainly if we have updates, we'll provide those in the future.

Ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ashley with CNN. You mentioned that he used a ladder to position himself. Did he use the ladder to position himself? Did he use the ladder to get on top of the neighboring roof --

ROTHROCK: Yes, that's a --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- where his body was found?

ROTHROCK: He was found on top of a neighboring roof. We believe he used the ladder to access that roof -- sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Fox News Channel. Was suicide part of his plan all along or was he cornered by law enforcement?

ROTHROCK: His handwritten notes indicate that he did not expect to survive this event -- sir.

KEVIN REECE, WFAA REPORTER: Kevin Reece, WFAA, a personal question, if you would bear. Can you explain to people in this climate what it's like to be an ICE agent right now.

CHARLES: As I had said, the ICE officers that are out there right now, if you've seen, you've seen them in the, you know, multiple times on the news. They're out there doing their job with courage and honor. Yes, there is a heightened sense of security for everybody, not only at work, but for their families, for their their loved ones. Mainly because of the doxing that's going on and the the violent rhetoric that people have been perpetrating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Charles, while you're up there, can I just follow up to that question and ask how the agents that did respond on that day yesterday morning, can you tell us what they were wearing at the time? Because I know sometimes ICE agents do and don't have bulletproof gear on. Can you give us an idea of how they responded, what they had on them at the time?

CHARLES: So they're wearing their normal gear. And it was not only ICE agents, it was ATF agents also that went out there and heroically came out and under fire, went to rescue those individuals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you spoken to them?

CHARLES: I have spoken to one of them so far, but I haven't spoken to others. They're doing OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a question about the immigration status for those individuals who were injured. What's their immigration status? Is it going to change? Maybe, perhaps, and then those who were in the van, based on you.

CHARLES: The individuals that were in the van will be going through due process, and they'll go through the whole immigration proceeding, so I'm not going to go into what their status is currently.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And those who were injured.

CHARLES: Same thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, we have time for one more question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where the papers were found? CHARLES: That one's for you.

ROTHROCK: So again, I'm not going to detail every aspect of the case. We did search his residence and we that is where we found the handwritten notes and that's all the time we have for questions today. When we have more updates, we'll come back.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, we've been listening to officials there in Dallas, giving us this update following that deadly ICE facility shooting where one detainee was killed and another two were injured.

Let's bring in our former -- the former chief of Homeland Security for Washington, DC, Donell Harvin. He's also a member of the faculty at Georgetown University's Emergency and Disaster Management Program. Donnell, first off, just what stood out to you during that press conference?

DONELL HARVIN, FORMER CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY FOR WASHINGTON, DC: Well, what I found striking, and I want to give kudos to the ICE agents, that under heavy fire, they didn't know where it's coming from. They kept their cool and went and tried to rescue the individuals that were in their custody. I've been in that position one time. I was in the field, minding my own business, chatting with my partner, and we came under fire. And I don't know if I would have been able to do the same thing. So that really is a superhuman feat, and we should give them credit.

They talked really in detail about the planning that this sniper that they called -- they're calling him sniper -- took to undertake this. I find it incredible -- I find it incredible how easy it was to execute this. I mean, they haven't talked about his background that much. But from public reporting, this wasn't some trained military or law enforcement individual. They didn't have extensive training. It seems like just a wacko with a rifle and a plan. And we see this time and time again with these lone actors. They're almost impossible, almost impossible to stop. And the opportunities to stop them is when they're doing pre-operational surveillance. And it seems like he's done some extensive pre-operational surveillance in this attack.

SANCHEZ: And to that point, Donell, investigators found some handwritten loose notes belonging to the shooter. They included a game plan of the attack, describing ICE employees as people showing up to collect dirty paychecks ...

END