Fugitive wanted in Alvarado ICE detention center shooting arrested after manhunt
A week-long manhunt for a suspect accused of participating in an ambush on an immigration detention center on July 4 has ended, North Texas federal prosecutors said.
Benjamin Hanil Song was arrested by FBI agents on Tuesday in Dallas, 11 days after he and 10 other suspects allegedly staged the attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado on the night of Independence Day, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
An Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck during the ambush, authorities said. The officer was treated and released from a Fort Worth hospital. Investigators said one of the assailants also fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the building.
Song, a former Marine Corps reservist, has been charged by federal complaint with three counts of attempted murder of federal agents and three counts of discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Song is accused of buying four of the guns used in the crime.
Song is being held at the Johnson County Jail on a $15 million bond, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. He also faces state charges of aiding in the commission of terrorism, aggravated assault on a public servant and engaging in organized criminal activity, jail records state.
Two additional suspects, identified as John Philip Thomas and Lynette Read Sharp, were charged July 14 with accessory after the fact when agents determined they helped Song escape from the area of the detention center and evade arrest, federal officials said in a news release Tuesday.
Johnson County Jail records show that Sharp also faces a state charge of hindering prosecution of terrorism and is being held on $2.5 million bond.
Thomas faces a state charge of smuggling of persons, and his bond has been set at $5 million.
Eleven suspects were previously arrested, including 10 who face attempted murder charges and one accused of tampering with evidence. With Song, Thomas and Sharp in custody, a total of 14 arrests have been made in the case.
The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a statewide Blue Alert for Song on July 9, the Star-Telegram previously reported. At the time, the DPS and the FBI were offering rewards of $10,000 and $25,000 respectively for information that led to Song’s arrest.
“After the immediate apprehension of Song’s coconspirators at the scene, the FBI and our federal prosecutors — together with our other law enforcement partners — worked tirelessly around the clock pursuing Song,,” Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson of the Texas Northern District said in a statement Tuesday. “Their tremendous efforts culminated in the arrest of this alleged violent criminal today.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2025 at 7:57 PM.
