Hazmat crews rushed to an ICE field office in Dallas’s Stemmons Corridor on Friday morning after reports of a suspicious package and an unknown substance sent alarms through the complex. Emergency vehicles packed the southbound service road near Empire Central Drive and West Mockingbird Lane as authorities locked down the area. No injuries were reported, and the building remained under active investigation.
Hazmat Team Probes Unknown Substance
Dallas Fire-Rescue and the Dallas Police Department responded to the call, with DFR confirming that its hazardous-materials team was examining an “unknown substance,” according to CBS News Texas. Officials have not disclosed what was found inside the package or how long the scene might remain sealed off.
Traffic Cameras Catch Heavy Emergency Response
Traffic cameras showed a long line of emergency vehicles stacked along the southbound service road between Empire Central Drive and West Mockingbird Lane, while a Dallas Fire-Rescue call log listed more than a dozen units responding, The Dallas Morning News reports. Several units were marked "hazmat" and others labeled "package," and crews were dispatched shortly before 7 a.m., the paper noted.
Scene Revives Memories Of September Shooting
The ICE field office sits in the same Stemmons Corridor complex that was attacked in September, when a shooter opened fire from a nearby rooftop, killing one detainee and critically injuring others before taking his own life, federal officials said, according to the Associated Press. That earlier violence has already put security measures at local immigration facilities under a much brighter spotlight, and Friday’s scare only adds to the tension.
Officials Keep Details Close
By midmorning, neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security had released a detailed public statement about the package, and investigators kept their cards close while work continued at the scene, FOX4 reported. Police asked drivers to steer clear of the immediate area as emergency crews remained on site. Officials said no injuries had been reported.
Threats Piling Up At Dallas ICE Office
Friday’s response is the latest in a series of scares at the same facility this year. In August, a man was arrested after claiming to have a bomb in his backpack, prompting a bomb-squad deployment, The Dallas Morning News reported. Federal officials have said threats and attacks on immigration facilities have increased in recent months, bringing heightened scrutiny to local offices already on edge.
