Former US Marine Corps reservist charged in Texas immigration detention center shooting
Jul 15, 2025, 8:15 PM

FILE - Trucks drive at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, Sept. 15, 2016. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News via AP, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News via AP, File)
A former U.S. Marine Corps reservist has been arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with an attack at a Texas immigration detention center in which a police officer was shot in the neck, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Benjamin Hanil Song, 32, is the latest person charged in the Fourth of July assault in which attackers dressed in black military-style clothing opened fire outside the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, southwest of Dallas, according to the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Song, from Dallas, was arrested after a weeklong search and has been charged with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents and three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, the office said in a statement. He is accused of purchasing four of the guns linked to the attack, it said.
U.S. District Court records do not list names of attorneys representing Song or scheduled court appearances. U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office for the Northern District of Texas did not immediately respond to an email asking whether Song has an attorney.
The officer wounded in the attack has since been released from the hospital.
Ten people, most of them from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, have previously been charged with attempted murder of a federal officer and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Another person has been charged with obstruction of justice for concealing evidence, while two others were charged with accessory after the fact for allegedly helping Song get away.
If convicted, most of the defendants could face up to life imprisonment, while those charged with obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact would face lesser penalties if convicted, according to federal prosecutors.
The shooting took place as President Donald Trump 鈥檚 administration ramps up deportations.
The attackers initially set off fireworks and spray-painted vehicles and a guard structure, including the words 鈥淚ce Pig,鈥 according to a criminal complaint. This was 鈥渄esigned to lure correctional officers outside the facility,鈥 according to U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office. Correctional officers called 911 and an Alvarado police officer responded and someone in the woods opened fire.
Another person across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at correctional officers who were unarmed after they walked out of the facility, according to the office鈥檚 statement.
After the group fled, sheriff鈥檚 deputies stopped seven people about 300 yards (275 meters) from where the officer was shot, according to a criminal complaint.
鈥淭hey were dressed in black, military-style clothing, some had on body armor, some were covered in mud, some were armed, and some had radios,鈥 the complaint said.
A sheriff鈥檚 office detective also stopped a van leaving the area and found two AR-style rifles and a pistol, along with ballistic-style vests and a helmet, the complaint said.
The driver, the only person in the van, said he had been at the detention center. He said he had met some people online and drove some of them to the detention center from Dallas to 鈥渕ake some noise,鈥 according to the complaint.
Song鈥檚 cellphone鈥檚 location data shows it was near the detention center from about 11:30 p.m. on July 4 and throughout the day on July 5, according to a criminal complaint.
鈥淭hough Song escaped by hiding overnight after the attack, we were confident he would not remain hidden for long,鈥 Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson said in a statement. 鈥淭he fourteen individuals who planned and participated in these heinous acts will be prosecuted, and we expect justice will be swift.鈥