A federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot a man in North Austin on Sunday afternoon. He is now in an ICE detention center with a bullet lodged in his back, according to his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch.
The injured man is 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. He was driving for DoorDash at the time he was shot, Lincoln-Goldfinch told reporters during a press conference on Monday. Garces Perez also spoke to reporters directly when organizers called him over the phone.
"I am not doing well due to the gunshot wound and I have not received the medical attention that I require," Garces Perez said in Spanish. Lincoln-Goldfinch and other organizers provided an English translation as he was speaking.
Garces Perez also gave his account of how the shooting unfolded. He said an unarmed black SUV tried to sideswipe his car. When he realized that ICE agents were the drivers, he made a U-turn under a highway bridge so that he could park and they could safely pull him over. Instead, he said, they sideswiped him again, exited their car and shot him in the back of the neck. He said he's not sure how many times the agents shot but is aware of one bullet wound.
KUT News spoke to two people who work at a business near the scene of the shooting, which occurred by the intersection U.S. 183 and Anderson Square. They said they heard two gunshots and went to see what happened.
One witness said he encountered an ICE agent and a man in a car who appeared to have been shot in the back. An ambulance arrived a short time later, said the witness, who asked not to be named because he feared negative impacts to his business.
The witness also shared a video he took shortly after the shooting. In the video, a man can be seen sitting in the driver's seat of a bright blue sedan, clutching his right shoulder. A bullet hole is visible on the driver's side front door. The extent of his injuries aren't clear from the video, which focuses mostly on the area around the car rather than the man inside.
"They shot you just to shoot you?" someone asks the man in the video.
"They shot me because I didn't stop," he responds.
ICE agents, including one whose face is covered by a black cloth, and an Austin police officer are standing next to the car. Asked if an ambulance is on the way, one of the officers answers, "yes."
Garces Perez was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center in stable condition, according to city officials. Lincoln-Goldfinch said he is now being held at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, roughly 130 miles southwest of Austin.
During the press conference, Garces Perez told reporters he didn't receive any medical attention at Dell Seton. When he asked if the bullet would be removed, he said, the doctor told him "they're in a hurry to get you out of here." He later slept on the floor of the detention center in Pearsall, still in pain, he said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch added that security staff at Dell Seton initially claimed Garces Perez wasn't there at all, and forced her and his wife to leave the premises. An attorney for the hospital later called Lincoln-Goldfinch and said Garces Perez had been released to ICE, she said.
In the hours after the shooting, protesters gathered at the scene and police used chemical agents to disperse the crowd. Police left the scene around 6 p.m., but protesters remained, moving construction materials at the intersection of Research Boulevard and Anderson Square to block a large portion of the road from incoming traffic.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on X late Sunday that ICE is investigating the shooting with assistance from the FBI. The agency identified the shooting victim as a man from Venezuela "who illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal."
Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garces Perez came to the U.S. two years ago using the "CBP One" mobile app, which the Biden administration created to allow migrants seeking asylum to virtually schedule their appointments at an official port of entry. The government stopped using it after President Trump took office in 2025.
According to Lincoln-Goldfinch, Garces Perez also had a valid work permit. She said he missed a court hearing for his immigration case because he had moved, and the notice of the hearing was sent to his old address. That's what led to his final order of removal, or deportation order, she said.
Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is leading the investigation into the officer involved shooting of an illegal alien from Venezuela, who illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order…
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 21, 2026
Local officials call for transparency, preservation of evidence
At a City Hall news conference on Sunday, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson was quick to stress that Austin Police were not involved in the shooting. He added that he was "angry" about the shooting, but was not surprised, given how "ICE is doing its business these days."
Watson said he wanted APD to be involved in the investigation of the shooting to offer a "clear-eyed, third-party look" at what happened.
"This has happened in the city of Austin, the city of Austin deserves answers on what occurred. ... We're going to get all those questions answered and we're going to be as transparent as we can be," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said.
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, sent a letter to DHS calling for an independent investigation and accountability for the officer involved in the shooting.
"The agent must be suspended and remain in Austin while the investigation into the shooting is ongoing," he said.
He also requested that the federal government release unedited footage of the shooting, preserve and share evidence with state and local law enforcement, and give him and other members of Congress a briefing by Monday, Sept. 28, on whether ICE followed protocol during the shooting.
During the news conference Monday, Casar also demanded that ICE release Garces Perez. If he is deported, Casar warned the government would be removing a "key witness to this shooting."
"I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican, we all believe the federal government should not be allowed to shoot you and then disappear you from the country so that no one can be held responsible," he said.
The shooting in Austin follows a string of such incidents across the country. Less than three months ago, ICE fatally shot two people within the span of one week, including Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston.
This is a developing story.
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