AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man Sunday afternoon in Austin, Texas, 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.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, confirmed the man was in stable condition and “in federal custody pending removal.”
Homeland Security Investigations, with FBI assistance, is investigating “the officer involved shooting of an illegal alien from Venezuela, who illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal,” the department said in a statement.
City 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.
Mayor says he wants city’s police involved in investigation
Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, 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 an investigation on its own.
Austin residents have “a right to feel safe in their city,” Watson 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 added 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.
Attorney says man shot is from Venezuela
An immigration attorney representing the man’s family identified him as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man.
Attorney Kate Lincoln Goldfinch said in a video posted to her Instagram account that she believed he had no criminal history and no final order of removal from the U.S., but 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 the man 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 the man remained hospitalized while in ICE custody or if he had been transferred elsewhere.
