The Independent
· collected 2026-09-21 · by Anna Wilder and Jesse Bedayn
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, a Venezuelan man shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Austin, Texas, remains in ICE custody at the South Texas ICE Processing Center with a bullet still in his back. He was making a DoorDash delivery when he was stopped for traffic violations on Sunday; the shooting occurred during this stop according to Fabiana Meléndez Ruiz, spokesperson for immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch. Perez is an asylum seeker and had no criminal history before being shot once in the torso and hospitalized; his detention continues despite ICE's lack of information release regarding the incident's details or its context within ongoing heightened enforcement activities under President Trump’s administration.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 20, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and wounded a man in Austin, Texas, during what appears to have been a brief foot pursuit. The victim was taken to a local hospital in serious but stable condition after being shot once in the torso. Police Chief Lisa Davis said that local police were not involved, and ICE is handling the investigation, though Mayor Kirk Watson wants city police to be part of it for transparency. Rights advocates are calling for an independent probe into this incident, which comes amid growing scrutiny of ICE operations under the Trump administration's immigration policies.
Written for “ICE Agent Shoots Wounds ManAustin” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 62 other(s) covering the same event.
A Venezuelan man shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was in custody Monday at an ICE detention center in Texas after he was released from a hospital with a bullet still lodged in his back, according to a spokesperson for the man's attorney.
uncertain
bullet → shoot → attorney
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was making a DoorDash delivery in the Texas capital of Austin on Sunday before he was shot during a traffic stop, said Fabiana Meléndez Ruiz, a spokesperson for immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch.
asserted
Ruiz → make → Goldfinch
Ruiz said that Perez called his wife around 12:30 p.m. Sunday to tell her that he had been shot.
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he → say → her
She said Perez's wife hasn't spoken with him since then.
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wife → say → him
Perez was being detained at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) southwest of Austin, Ruiz told The Associated Press.
asserted
Ruiz → detain → Press
She said Lincoln-Goldfinch spoke by phone with Perez, who told her that he was being interrogated while a bullet remained in his back.
asserted
bullet → say → back
Perez also said he had no pain medication, according to Ruiz.
uncertain
he → say → Ruiz
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has released little information and has not said what prompted the shooting.
asserted
what → oversee → shooting
In a statement early Monday, the department said it was investigating the shooting of a Venezuelan man in the U.S. illegally who “had a final order of removal.”
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who → say → removal
Perez is an asylum seeker and entered the United States through a parole program, and he has no criminal history, Ruiz said.
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Ruiz → enter → history
“Regardless of his status, the use of force was unwarranted," Ruiz said.
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Ruiz → say → force
"As far as we understand, he was here legally.”
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he → understand → ?
The shooting occurred amid a surge in ICE enforcement across the U.S. during President Donald Trump's second term.
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shooting → occur → term
During the summer, it reported more than 50,000 monthly arrests in July and August — a first for the agency.
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it → report → agency
Immigration officers have come under intense scrutiny amid a series of shootings during the crackdown.
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officers → come → crackdown
At least four people have been fatally shot by federal officers during immigration enforcement operations this year.
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people → shoot → operations
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis told reporters Sunday that the shooting occurred following a traffic stop.
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shooting → tell → stop
She said local police were not involved.
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police → say → ?
Local officials said the man was shot once in the torso and had been hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
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man → say → condition
Perez's wife and attorney were unable to get information on his condition from the hospital Sunday until hospital attorneys told them at around 6 p.m. that he had been discharged 90 minutes earlier, Ruiz said.
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Ruiz → get → p.m.
She said that ICE had not confirmed any information to Lincoln-Goldfinch, who used legal databases and other means to discover where he was being detained.
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he → say → databases
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said Sunday he wants local police to have a role in investigating the shooting.
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police → say → shooting
Watson said it wouldn’t be appropriate for ICE to investigate on its own.
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ICE → say → own
At the scene of the shooting, a dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes before it was towed away Sunday evening.
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it → park → door
About 100 anti-ICE protesters gathered Sunday in the shooting’s aftermath.
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protesters → gather → aftermath
_
Associated Press journalist Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.
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Bynum → contribute → Savannah
The Aporia
