A Texas police officer was shot in the neck late Thursday night during an apparent coordinated attack outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility, according to authorities.
Just before 11 p.m., officers from the Alvarado Police Department responded to reports of a suspicious person near the Prairieland ICE Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, CBS News reported. Upon arrival, officers encountered what appeared to be an armed individual, and when one officer attempted to engage, several suspects allegedly opened fire and struck the officer in the neck, police said. (RELATED: Thousands Of Non-Citizens Convicted Of Homicide, Other Crimes Roaming Free In US, ICE Says)
UPDATE: The DOJ said it’s closely monitoring following attacks at immigration detention facilities, including one in North Texas. An Alvarado officer was shot in the neck after several suspects opened fire Friday night. https://t.co/5rbLfpg8NN
— CBS News Texas (@CBSNewsTexas) July 5, 2025
The officer was airlifted to a hospital in Fort Worth, treated, and later released, Alvarado police said.
Law enforcement said multiple armed suspects were taken into custody after attempting to flee. A federal source told CBS News that eight people were arrested, with some reportedly wearing body armor. Officials are still investigating a motive.
Early reporting suggests more than a dozen masked individuals dressed in black arrived at the ICE facility, vandalized vehicles and surveillance equipment, and launched fireworks — allegedly to draw law enforcement into a trap, CBS reported. Local officers, alongside the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, responded and helped apprehend the suspects.
The Department of Justice released a statement Saturday morning, saying it is “closely monitoring the attacks on DHS facilities in Prairieland, TX, and Portland, OR, and are coordinating with the USAOs and our law enforcement partners.” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche added that the department has “zero tolerance for assaults on federal officers or property and will bring the full weight of the law against those responsible,” CBS reported.
While the FBI declined to comment directly on the incident, Alvarado police are continuing to investigate and ask anyone with information to call 817-790-0919.