ICE officer shoots man during foot pursuit in Austin

Austin, United States. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man during a brief foot pursuit on Sunday, according to city officials. The man was taken to hospital with a torso wound and was reported to be in serious but stable condition.

Incident details

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the shooting occurred shortly before 1 p.m. local time. City officials said they did not identify the man who was shot and did not know the identity of the ICE agent involved.

Davis said she had not yet been briefed by federal officials and had limited details about the incident.

Identity and custody

Immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch identified the injured man to multiple news outlets as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, and said she represents his family.

Lincoln-Goldfinch said Perez was released from hospital on Sunday into the apparent custody of ICE. A law enforcement source told CNN that Perez is an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, while Lincoln-Goldfinch told the Texas Tribune that her client entered the United States legally.

Federal investigation

The Department of Homeland Security said on X that its Homeland Security Investigations unit is leading the investigation into the officer-involved shooting, with assistance from the FBI.

The department said the person shot was a Venezuelan national who entered the United States illegally during the Biden administration and was subject to a final removal order. It said the person was stable and in federal custody pending removal.

ICE is an agency within the Department of Homeland Security.

Calls for local involvement

The shooting follows a series of incidents involving ICE, whose actions have drawn scrutiny and calls for accountability from rights advocates amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said he wants city police to participate in the investigation, along with the Texas Rangers.