The Dallas ICE field office is a frequent backdrop for protests over Trump-era immigration enforcement. Demonstrations this year have included CAIR-DFW and Students for Justice in Palestine, the Brown Berets de DFW, and regular prayer vigils by interfaith clergy and Faith Commons.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a broadcast interview that Wednesday's shooting happened "just a month ago to the day that there was a viable bomb threat" in Dallas.
"So this location, it looks like it's been targeted, and we don't know how long this individual has been planning this act," she said. "It looks like he could have been watching to look at the processing and see what happens on a day-to-day basis at this Dallas field office. But [these are] all answers that Homeland Security investigation is going to get down to the bottom of."
A July 4 attack at a Texas immigration detention center injured a police officer, who was shot in the neck. Attackers dressed in black military-style clothing opened fire outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas, federal prosecutors said. At least 11 people have been charged in connection with the attack.
A man with an assault rifle fired dozens of rounds at federal agents as they were leaving a U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen on July 7. The man, identified as Ryan Louis Mosqueda, injured a police officer who responded to the scene before authorities shot and killed him. Police later found other weaponry, ammunition and backpacks inside his car.