A North Texas police officer is recovering after being shot in the neck while responding to a report of a suspicious person near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Friday night.
Alvarado Police Department officers were dispatched to the Prairieland Detention Center in Johnson County shortly after 11 p.m. following a call about a potentially armed individual loitering near the facility. When the first officer attempted to make contact, multiple individuals opened fire. The officer was airlifted to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth and was later released, reports said.
“The suspects attempted to flee the scene. Officers from the Alvarado Police Department, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, and neighboring agencies took several armed suspects into custody. At this time the motives of the suspects are unclear,” the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office announced on a Facebook post. “Alvarado Police Department would like to thank the local agencies, the Sheriff’s office, the Texas Rangers, and the Federal law enforcement agencies that continue to provide assistance.”
Several state and local law enforcement agencies are urging anyone with information about the incident or those involved to come forward.
According to a report from local outlet KTVT-TV, citing a federal law enforcement source, eight suspects have been taken into custody in connection with the attack. Some were reportedly wearing body armor.
Early reports suggest that more than a dozen individuals, all dressed in black clothing and wearing masks, vandalized security cameras and vehicles parked outside the detention facility, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The group also set off fireworks and other incendiary devices, allegedly in an attempt to divert law enforcement away from the facility, a federal law enforcement source said.
In a post on X Saturday, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the department is closely monitoring the investigation and maintaining a “zero tolerance” stance toward any acts of violence against federal agents or facilities. Over the weekend, rioting erupted once again at an ICE facility in Portland, with additional sites in Seattle, Newark, Los Angeles, and other cities also targeted in recent weeks after Democrats have regularly demonized ICE agents with some even calling for push-back against them.
“We are closely monitoring the attacks on DHS detention facilities in Prairieland, TX, and Portland, OR, and are coordinating with the USAOs and our law enforcement partners,” Blanche announced Saturday. “The Department has zero tolerance for assaults on federal officers or property and will bring the full weight of the law against those responsible.”
