A police officer from North Texas is in recovery after sustaining a gunshot wound to the neck while responding to reports of a suspicious individual near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility on Friday night.
Officers from the Alvarado Police Department were dispatched to the Prairieland Detention Center in Johnson County shortly after 11 p.m. following a call regarding a suspicious person, who was suspected to be armed with a firearm, lurking outside the facility. The first officer on the scene attempted to engage with the individual, at which point multiple assailants opened fire.
The officer was promptly airlifted to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth and has since been discharged.
“The suspects tried to escape the scene. Officers from the Alvarado Police Department, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, and nearby agencies apprehended several armed suspects. Currently, the motives behind the suspects’ actions remain unclear,” stated the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in a Facebook post. “The Alvarado Police Department expresses gratitude to the local agencies, the Sheriff’s office, the Texas Rangers, and the federal law enforcement agencies that continue to offer support.”
Numerous state and local law enforcement agencies are encouraging anyone with information regarding the incident or the suspects to come forward.
As reported by local news outlet KTVT-TV, citing a federal law enforcement source, eight suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident. Some of these individuals were reportedly wearing body armor.
Initial reports suggest that over a dozen individuals, all clad in masks and black attire, vandalized security cameras and vehicles parked outside the detention facility, according to a report from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The group also ignited fireworks and other incendiary devices in an apparent attempt to divert officers’ attention away from the facility, as indicated by the federal law enforcement source.
In a post on X this past Saturday, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the department is vigilantly observing the investigation and is adopting a “zero tolerance” policy towards any acts of violence directed at federal agents or facilities.
Rioting has once again erupted at an ICE facility in Portland over the weekend, while other facilities in Seattle, Newark, Los Angeles, and various locations have been targeted in recent weeks.
“We are diligently monitoring the assaults on DHS detention facilities in Prairieland, TX, and Portland, OR, and are collaborating with the USAOs and our law enforcement partners,” Blanche declared on Saturday. “The Department maintains a zero tolerance stance against attacks on federal officers or property and will apply the full force of the law against those accountable.”
