An ICE agent who shot Venezuelan DoorDash driver Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez in Texas was newly hired and not wearing his body camera at the time. The incident occurred on Sunday when Garcés Pérez, 28, was delivering food in Austin and subsequently arrested; footage from his arrest has since been released by the Austin Police Department. Three unnamed officials from the Department of Homeland Security told The Atlantic that ICE agents were trying to pull over Garcés Pérez before he allegedly fled, leading to the shooting. Garcés Pérez’s attorney claims her client lawfully entered the U.S., while DHS asserts his work permit expired in 2025 and that his deportation order was issued due to incorrect mailing address for hearing notices.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
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 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 62 other(s) covering the same event.
An ICE agent who shot a Venezuelan DoorDash driver in Texas was a recruit and not wearing a body camera at the time, according to multiple reports.
Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28, was shot once on Sunday in Austin while carrying out his deliveries.
uncertain
Pérez → shoot → deliveries
The Austin Police Department, which responded to the shooting, has now released footage taken during Garcés Pérez’s arrest.
asserted
which → respond → arrest
However, three officials at the Department of Homeland Security told The Atlantic that the ICE agent who shot the 28-year-old was not wearing his body camera and was hired just last year.
asserted
who → tell → camera
ICE agents are required to switch on their cameras before enforcement actions take place and may only stop recording them once the incident has concluded.
uncertain
incident → require → them
The sources did not name the agent to The Atlantic, but confirmed that he has previously worked with a different federal law enforcement agency.
asserted
he → name → agency
Officials told NBC News that the agent had been issued a body camera but that he was not wearing it.
asserted
he → tell → it
“Before we hear anything from ICE about ‘we pulled him over’ or ‘he was fleeing’ or ‘he was aggressive,’” Garcés Pérez’s attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, wrote on X, “our response to any statements like this is: ‘We won’t believe you until you show us...show us your body cam footage, show us your dash cam footage.
asserted
you → hear → footage
“Otherwise nobody believes you.”
asserted
nobody → believe → you
One of the unnamed officials told The Atlantic the shooting was preceded by ICE agents trying to pull the 28-year-old’s vehicle over, with Garcés Pérez allegedly driving away - allegedly almost striking an officer in the process.
uncertain
Pérez → tell → process
The sources said the moment was captured on a second ICE agent’s body camera.
asserted
moment → say → camera
The agents tried to detain Garcés Pérez, but the Venezuelan man began driving away once again.
asserted
man → try → Pérez
That was when the officer opened fire, the sources say.
asserted
sources → open → fire
During a press conference, Garcés Pérez shared his own account of the incident by phone and via a translator.
asserted
Pérez → share → translator
He claimed that he performed a U-turn and was trying to park when officers rammed his car and shot him in the back of the neck.
asserted
officers → claim → neck
Lincoln-Goldfinch said the bullet still remains in her client’s body and that he had to be transferred back to the hospital from the ICE facility, after he began to experience difficulty in lifting his arm.
asserted
he → say → arm
The attorney also says her client lawfully entered the U.S. after being inspected by the CBP and issued a work permit.
asserted
client → say → permit
The DHS claims that this work permit expired in 2025.
uncertain
permit → claim → 2025
Garcés Pérez’s deportation order was issued in absentia because the hearing notice was sent to the wrong address, Lincoln-Goldfinch says.
asserted
Goldfinch → issue → address
DoorDash told NBC News that it is conducting an investigation into the shooting.
asserted
it → tell → shooting
This is the latest in a series of similar incidents involving ICE agents, following the fatal shooting of a Mexican man named Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE officer in Houston two months ago.
asserted
This → involve → Houston
The DHS says Salgado Araujo rammed an ICE vehicle and “weaponized his vehicle” in an attempt to run over an agent.
asserted
Araujo → say → agent
Government data analyzed by The Associated Press and published by the Deportation Data Project stated that ICE made 49,571 arrests in July alone.
asserted
ICE → analyze → July
At the start of the year, the DHS stated that it had received 220,000 applications to join ICE and that it had 12,000 new agents operating across the country.
asserted
it → state → country
The Independent has contacted the DHS and DoorDash for comment.
asserted
Independent → contact → comment
The Aporia
