ICE shoots 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in Austin
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents shot and severely wounded a man during an enforcement operation in north Austin on Sunday. Paramedics transported the wounded individual to an area trauma center for urgent medical treatment.
The gunfire broke out along the 8000 block of Anderson Square near the intersection of Research Boulevard at approximately 12:56 p.m. State and municipal emergency responders received urgent calls regarding shots fired in the commercial sector. First responders arrived within minutes to secure the perimeter.
Immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch identified the wounded target as 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. Perez is a Venezuelan citizen without lawful residency in the United States who faces an active final order of deportation.
Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services treated Garces Perez for a bullet wound to his torso before transporting him to a regional hospital. He survived the shooting. Doctors subsequently cleared Garces Perez for discharge from the hospital, after which federal officers immediately transferred him into ICE detention on Sunday evening.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis clarified that local officers played no role in planning the federal mission or discharging firearms during the incident. Davis noted that preliminary field reports indicate federal officers opened fire following a brief foot pursuit across the commercial property.
A substantial multi-agency law enforcement presence converged on the north Austin scene, including troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Investigators examined a blue Toyota Corolla parked at the scene that displayed visible ballistic impacts across its exterior. Structural damage marked the passenger-side door alongside shattered glass fragments on the pavement.
Austin City Council Member Mike Siegel visited the location on Sunday afternoon, acknowledging federal control over the site while demanding local oversight. “My biggest concern right now is that this is investigated properly,” Siegel said during his on-site address. “I want the city police to also be part of the investigation so that the public has confidence that we are getting real facts, that there is a proper investigation being conducted.”
Chief Davis and Austin Mayor Kirk Watson confirmed that the Austin Police Department Special Investigations Unit will collaborate with the Texas Rangers to examine the shooting. Both agencies intend to run concurrent investigative tracks to verify every action taken by the armed personnel on the street.
Mayor Watson expressed sharp outrage over the daylight federal discharge of weapons inside city limits. “As mayor of the city of Austin, I am very angry about this,” Watson stated publicly. “I am extremely dissatisfied. A person being shot on the streets of Austin by someone holding themselves out as an authority, especially when it comes to ICE, is something that makes me unhappy and angry.”
A spokesperson for the United States Department of Homeland Security in Texas stated in a Sunday night release that Homeland Security Investigations is directing the inquiry alongside agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to the federal statement, the wounded Venezuelan national crossed the border unlawfully during the Biden administration, currently maintains stable physical health under armed supervisory custody, and remains detained inside a federal facility while enforcement officers prepare to execute his active final order of removal from the country.
Lawmakers and county prosecutors demand independent review of federal gunfire
Texas State Representative and United States Senate candidate James Talarico monitored development reports from the scene throughout Sunday afternoon. “Past incidents have shown that this agency cannot be trusted to report all the facts,” Talarico stated regarding the federal service. “We need a full and independent investigation that includes the release of all available footage.”
United States Representatives Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett, both Austin Democrats serving in Congress, issued separate statements demanding institutional accountability. Casar characterized the armed confrontation as horrific violence brought into the local community, while Doggett attributed public confusion directly to standard secrecy and chronic unresponsiveness within ICE.
Representative Casar dispatched a formal letter to the United States Department of Homeland Security on Sunday requesting an immediate and independent review. The congressional inquiry called for the rapid release of any body-worn camera or surveillance footage documenting the gunfire. Casar also urged federal authorities to hold the shooter accountable under federal standards.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office released a late Sunday statement emphasizing that a community member suffered gunshot wounds from a federal operative. Travis County prosecutors requested direct evidentiary access and full investigative partnership alongside the Austin Police Department to review all federal findings.
