A federal immigration agent shot and injured a man while he was in the middle of a DoorDash delivery on Sunday in Austin, Texas, according to local officials.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national was shot and taken to the hospital, according to social media posts from his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer rammed Garces Perez’s car, then got out of his federal vehicle and fired at least five times, Austin City Council member Mike Siegel told The Associated Press.
Afterward, a dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes, local media reported. Siegel said he could see at least two bullet holes.
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The Department of Homeland Security said it is investigating the officer-involved shooting of “an illegal alien from Venezuela.” Garces Perez entered the country during President Joe Biden’s administration and “had a final order of removal,” DHS said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch was with Garces Perez’s wife when an attorney from the hospital called and informed them that he had been taken into ICE custody at approximately 4:30 p.m., she said on X.
At a news conference on Sunday, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson confirmed that the Austin Police Department was not involved in the shooting. City officials said that Garces Perez was shot in the torso and his condition was stable.
Watson criticized what he called the “politics of fear” that preceded the shooting.
“A person being shot on the streets of Austin by someone purporting to be law enforcement, particularly when it’s ICE, is something that causes me to be unhappy and angry about it,” Watson said.
“While I’m unhappy and I’m angry about it, I’m not surprised at all,” Watson added, pointing to the other shootings ICE has been involved in across the country.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) demanded transparency from ICE and called for President Donald Trump’s administration to remove the federal agents from the state.
“The Department of Homeland Security and ICE are under a legal obligation, and under the obligation under the Constitution, to share information with the United States Congress,” Casar said. “If ICE wants to keep people safe, if the federal government wants to keep people safe, ICE should not have this surge of officers here.”
Texas State Patrol troopers could be seen in North Austin near the scene of Garces Perez’s shooting where a group had gathered to protest on Sunday night.
In July, an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an attempted traffic stop in Houston. DHS said Araujo, a Mexican national, attempted to ram the agents and they opened fire in self-defense, but passengers in Araujo’s vehicle and his relatives have disputed the government’s account. Days later, an ICE agent shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in another attempted vehicle stop in Maine.
Guerrero’s and Araujo’s deaths and the shootings of several others caught up in Trump’s immigration crackdown have sparked protests against the enforcement efforts.
This story has been updated with details throughout.
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