shooting

Rep. Marc Veasey (D-TX) has said he has little faith that the FBI will carry out a fair or complete investigation into a shooting Wednesday that killed three people, including two detainees, outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in his district.

“I don’t trust anything that’s happening out of that agency at all,” Veasey told NOTUS, according to a report published Wednesday.

“I don’t trust them at all. They’re overly political," he added.

When the shooting happened early Wednesday in Dallas, officials were slow to share details about the four people who were shot. At a midday press briefing, federal authorities would only confirm that those hurt or killed were not law enforcement personnel.

“That was all they said. And I was really, I was sickened by that, and I was disappointed by that,” Veasey told a reporter by phone just afterward, per the report.

“If there are two victims that are migrants, they need to be acknowledged," he added.

Before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) verified the victims’ status, some news outlets reported law enforcement sources saying immigrants had been hit.

Later, the DHS confirmed that all three people shot were detainees. Two died, while one remains in critical condition.

The shooter also died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to DHS, the assailant “fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport where the victims were shot.” The agency said shell casings found at the scene bore anti-ICE messages, calling the act “an attack on ICE law enforcement.”

In the same statement, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said: “Our prayers are with the families of those killed and our ICE law enforcement. This vile attack was motivated by hatred for ICE … 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.”

FBI Director Kash Patel posted an image on the social platform X showing a shell casing that said "anti-ICE."

He wrote: “While the investigation is ongoing, an initial review of the evidence shows an idealogical motive behind this attack … the FBI and our partners will lead these investigative efforts to see to it that those who target our law enforcement are pursued and brought to the fullest extent of justice.”

He also reiterated that “thankfully, no law enforcement personnel were injured,” though provided no further details on the victims.

Many questioned the official response to the incident, questioning why an "anti-ICE" shooter would target migrants. Patel was specifically criticized for sharing supposed evidence on social media.

Former US ambassador Luis Moreno reacted to Patel's post and wrote on X: "This will be a sad post for me. Worked shoulder to shoulder with federal LEOs for 35 yrs. FBI was the best, my closest colleagues (and to this day) friends. Their word was gospel. Today, with Kash Patel as director, everything they say is suspect. Tragic."

During his interview Wednesday, Veasey also denounced the response. “Until we get a full briefing on exactly what happened, and there are documents that are released that third parties can actually look through … I think that that’s all we have, because we know that Patel is gonna — he’s gonna play Patel games,” he said.