ICE agent shoots and wounds man in Austin, officials say

AUSTIN, Texas — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man Sunday afternoon in Texas’ capital of Austin, local authorities said, and anti-ICE protesters quickly gathered at the scene.

The man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on the capital city’s north side, Austin officials said at a news conference. An immigration attorney representing the man’s family identified him as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not participate in the news conference and didn’t immediately respond to requests for details.

Austin police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, which occurred after a traffic stop, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said while briefing reporters along with the city’s mayor and other officials.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said he wants the city’s Police Department to have a role in the investigation so it can provide “clear, third-party eyes” in the process. Watson said he does not think it would be appropriate for ICE to conduct the investigation on its own.

Austin residents have “a right to feel safe in their city,” the mayor said. A proper investigation will only enhance credibility, he added.

The chief said there were not many facts she could provide so soon after the incident, but noted that her department’s special investigation unit was at the scene.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said it received a request from ICE for assistance in a vehicle pursuit around 12:50 p.m. By the time DPS troopers arrived, the shooting had already taken place, the department said in a statement Sunday evening.

No known criminal history, attorney says

The attorney representing the shooting victim’s family, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, identified him. She said in a video posted to her Instagram account that she believed Garces Perez had no criminal history and no final order of removal from the U.S. She later told the Associated Press that she did not know his current immigration status.

The man’s family has struggled to get any information from the hospital about his status or location, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.

Just before 7 p.m., the man’s wife was informed by the hospital’s attorney that he had been released into ICE custody a few hours earlier, Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote in a text to AP.

“No one bothered to update her,” she wrote.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Garces Perez remained hospitalized while in ICE custody or if he had been transferred elsewhere.

Protesters turn out

A dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes. The car was towed away in the early evening and traffic began moving again.

Authorities deploy non-lethal weapons near a demonstration where a man was shot in his vehicle by an ICE officer on Sunday in Austin, Texas.

(Joel Angel Juarez / Associated Press )

A large law enforcement presence was at the scene, along with a crowd of about 100 protesters. Some demonstrators cursed at police officers holding riot shields, while others yelled out as passing cars honked in support of the protest. One man held a sign saying, “Nobody is safe” and, on the other side, “ICE Nazi.”

Asked whether Austin authorities knew the whereabouts of the federal agent involved, given that officers have left states after previous shootings nationwide, the mayor said: “We do not know that. But my hope would be that an agent that’s involved in an officer-involved shooting would not leave the city. Certainly not leave the state.”

The office of Travis County Dist. Atty. José Pompa Garza asked that local police and prosecutors be included in the investigation.

“We further request cooperation from the federal government in giving us access to the evidence,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement Sunday evening.

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, called for transparency as the shooting is investigated.

“It is awful that this horror has come to our doorstep,” Casar told reporters. “For Austin to be safe, ICE should end its surge here.”

ICE enforcement surge

The shooting comes as ICE surges enforcement across the country this summer, producing more than 50,000 arrests a month for the first time in its history in July and August.

In July, an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo of Houston, 52, after federal agents driving unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

Also in July, Johan Sebastián, a 25-year-old Colombian man, was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Maine. The officer, David Brouillette, is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, several of his close relatives have told the Associated Press. He never should have been given a badge and gun to patrol American streets, they said.

The Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

Bedayn, Weber and Boone write for the Associated Press. Weber reported from Los Angeles.