Trump administration officials and MAGA world personalities quickly blamed Wednesday's shooting at a Dallas Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on anti-law enforcement rhetoric.
The big picture: The rush to point fingers before local police confirmed a motive or the identity of the victims mirrors the rush to assign blame following Charlie Kirk's death, and reflects the fears of rising political violence in the U.S.
- FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X Wednesday that unspent bullet casings found at the scene included one etched with the word 'anti-ICE.'
- "These despicable, politically motivated attacks against law enforcement are not a one-off," he wrote. "We are only miles from Prarieland, Texas where just two months ago an individual ambushed a separate ICE facility targeting their officers. It has to end."
- Neither local nor federal authorities have indicated what the etched message could mean, or how it connects to what motivated the shooter.
What they're saying: "While we don't know motive yet, we know that our ICE law enforcement is facing unprecedented violence against them. It must stop," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a psaidost on X.
- Vice President JD Vance reposted Noem's message, adding, "the obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop."
- The White House singled out Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) for recently comparing ICE to "slave patrols" in a post on X Wednesday afternoon.
- "It's rhetoric like this that leads to violence — and it MUST STOP," the White House wrote. Crockett's office did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
Of note: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott characterized the shooter as an "assassin" in a post on X.
- "This assassination will NOT slow our arrest, detention, & deportation of illegal immigrants," he added.
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office will continue to "combat the alarming increase of targeted attacks against ICE and all law enforcement by evil, twisted individuals."
- Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on X alleged "the radical left and Democrat policies in blue states foster attacks against ICE and all law enforcement."
The other side: Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin wrote on X that he was "immensely grateful" for the first responders.
- "I'm praying for the victims and their families. This kind of violence has no place in our democracy," he wrote.
Driving the news: Preliminary information indicates that a sniper fired shots into the "secure detainee location" of the facility, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told CNN early Wednesday.
- Law enforcement confirmed in a midday press conference that multiple people were shot, and two, including the shooter, are dead.
- DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that the people shot were ICE detainees, and that no officers were involved in the shooting.
The intrigue: The Department of Homeland Security slammed the "media, leftist groups and sanctuary politicians" for "hateful rhetoric" in a press release last week.
- The release referenced two DHS agents who were assaulted in the line of duty in recent months, and encouraged the country to "turn down the temperature before someone else is killed."
Zoom in: Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson urged the public to hold off on drawing any conclusions about the shooter and their motive in a press conference on Wednesday morning.
- "There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and I want to encourage all of you to exercise a little bit of restraint and allow them to do their job to help make sure this continues to be a safe city," Johnson said.
- Later in the conference, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) added that the violence "needs to stop" and warned that America's "divisive rhetoric" has "real consequences."
Zoom out: Some prominent MAGA figures more directly blamed Democrats for the shooting.
- In a post on X, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) questioned if the shooter was a member of "antifa," or "another psycho that has been brainwashed" by Democrats and the media.
- Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson blamed leftists for violence, citing celebrations of Charlie Kirk's death, people vandalizing a memorial for Kirk and the August shooting at a Minneapolis church that killed two and injured 18.
Go deeper: Multiple injured in shooting at Dallas ICE facility
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from FBI Director Kash Patel and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
