A most-wanted suspect who had been on the run since the July 4 ambush on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas has been captured in Dallas.
Benjamin Hanil Song, 32, was arrested Tuesday at a Far North Dallas apartment complex in a coordinated effort involving several agencies.
Authorities charged two additional suspects on Monday, John Phillip Thomas and Lynette Read Sharp, for helping Song evade arrest, police said. Now, up to 15 people face charges in connection with the attack, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
Song was apprehended without incident and booked into the Johnson County Jail later Tuesday. According to officials, Song remained in custody in Johnson County on a $15,000,000 bond as of Wednesday.
Song allegedly joined a group of 10-12 people in the “targeted and coordinated” assault on police officers at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado on July 4. Song faces charges of attempted murder of a federal officer and discharging a firearm during a violent crime, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
On July 9, officials issued a statewide Blue Alert for Song or information that could lead to Song’s arrest. The investigation and Song’s capture involved the FBI—Dallas, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Office, ATF, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Alvarado Police Department, and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
“The FBI has worked tirelessly to arrest everyone associated with the shooting at the Prairieland Detention Center,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said in a statement. “His arrest is the result of our determination to protect not only the community, but also our law enforcement partners that were the targets of a coordinated attack.”
Authorities allege Song bought four of the guns found in connection with the shooting, including two AR-style rifles, according to an affidavit obtained by WFAA 8 News.
WFAA reported an FBI SWAT team made the arrest at the Meadowcrest Apartments late Tuesday afternoon. A second person connected to the attack was “apprehended simultaneously at a different location,” according to a press release Wednesday.
Officials allege Song drove to the scene of the attack, which occurred just after 10:30 p.m., Friday, July 4. His cell phone pinged in the area, but authorities were unable to locate him. The ICE detention facility in Alvarado is about 30 miles south of Fort Worth and 60 miles south of Far North Dallas.
“Though Song escaped by hiding overnight after the attack, we were confident he would not remain hidden for long,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson in a statement. “The fourteen individuals who planned and participated in these heinous acts will be prosecuted, and we expect justice will be swift.”
Song is a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist and previously faced accusations of attacking law enforcement during a 2020 protest in Austin, WFAA previously reported. A grand jury later declined to indict Song on charges he assaulted two officers after he pointed his rifle at them, causing them to “fear for their lives,” according to an arrest affidavit.
The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve confirmed Song served for nearly five years, and his rank was Lance Corporal when discharged. He specialized in supply administration and operations clerk and received an other-than-honorable discharge in 2016, court documents said.
Four of the guns recovered from the scene were purchased by Song — one just 10 days before the attack, Rothrock said.
“He has military training and based on what we’ve seen in the criminal complaint, he’s demonstrated a propensity for violence,” Rothrock said in the WFAA report. “From our perspective, he poses a significant risk to the community and to law enforcement.”
In 2023, Song faced a civil lawsuit alleging he was part of a group of armed counter-protesters who attacked a group of people gathering in opposition to a drag brunch in Fort Worth. Court records showed Song denied he was at the incident, and the group later dropped him from its lawsuit, WFAA reported.
An Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck and flown to an area hospital, but was treated and released. No employees at the detention center were harmed, officials said.
The suspects fled the scene, but 10 people were caught and arrested by responding officers. However, Song evaded police. Song’s phone location data reportedly shows it was within several hundred meters of the detention center until after dark on July 5, according to the DOJ release.
Authorities believe it was planned and coordinated because the suspects were dressed in black military-style gear, carried radios, spray-painted cars, and had an anti-fascism flag. Subsequent searches of their cars and homes found balaclava masks, more guns and “anti-government propaganda,” an affidavit revealed.
Some of the assailants had AR-style rifles and wore Kevlar vests, shooting fireworks and eventually bullets toward the detention center. One or two suspects involved graffitied cars and other property, including writing “ICE pig” on a Toyota Prius, according to an affidavit.
When an Alvarado police officer arrived on the scene, he was shot in the neck within seconds, authorities said. The APD officer called for backup and returned fire.
Another alleged assailant across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility, according to the DOJ.
An internal FBI document obtained by WFAA showed agents do not believe the North Texas attack is connected to another attack at a McAllen, Texas ICE facility.
