PRAIRIELAND DETENTION CENTER ATTACK - 1 OFFICER SHOT IN THE NECK

At 10:37 PM on July 4, 2025, a group of around ten to twelve individuals wearing all-black clothing — dressed in what law enforcement and the federal grand jury would call "black bloc" — approached the perimeter of the Prairieland Detention Center at 1209 Sunflower Lane in Alvarado, Texas. It was a DHS immigration detention facility, holding persons related to immigration violations and awaiting deportation hearings. The facility had correctional officers contracted by DHS on duty that night. They were unarmed.

The group immediately began launching fireworks — which federal prosecutors would formally classify as explosives — at the facility and its perimeter fence. Around 10:47 PM, one or two members broke off and began vandalizing the parking lot: spray-painting "Ice Pig." on a government vehicle and "Fuck You Pigs" on the guard shack. They slashed tires on a government vehicle. They destroyed a closed-circuit security camera.

At 10:56 PM, the correctional officers called 911. Two of them came to the fence line to speak with the vandals, then exited into the parking lot. Meanwhile, a person wearing a green mask stood outside the woods at the intersection of Tanglewood Drive and Sunflower Lane, signaling to the group with a high-powered flashlight. That person was Benjamin Hanil Song.

At 10:59 PM, an officer from the Alvarado Police Department arrived in the parking lot in response to the 911 call. He stepped out of his cruiser and began issuing commands to a rioter who had been vandalizing government property. That rioter turned and ran toward Song, who was dressed in black bloc and holding a rifle. Song yelled: "Get to the rifles!" Moments later, Song opened fire.

The APD officer was struck in the neck area. He fell to the ground — but was able to return a few shots. Song fired additional rounds at the wounded, downed officer, and then turned his fire on the unarmed DHS correctional officers as they ducked and ran for cover. He fired until his rifle jammed. The malfunction was consistent with the binary trigger installed on his Franklin Arms FAI-15 — a modification Song had made himself that caused the weapon to fire two rounds per trigger pull, doubling its rate of fire.

The Antifa Cell then fled the scene. Spent 5.56 caliber casings were recovered at both shooter locations. The APD officer survived. So did the correctional officers. It was not for lack of trying.