Protesters gather around a memorial at the site where an I.C.E. agent shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez at the intersection of Anderson Square and Research Boulevard on Sunday, Sep. 20, 2026 in North Austin.
A federal immigration agent shot and injured 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez on Sunday in North Austin, according to state and local officials.
The shooting occurred around 12:56 p.m. in the 8000 block of Anderson Square, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said.
Article continues below this ad
Perez suffered a wound to his torso and was transferred to the Dell Seton Medical Center in stable condition. He was released into ICE custody around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, according to Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an attorney representing his family.
At a news conference, Mayor Kirk Watson called for an independent investigation into the incident.
Follow along for live updates. Read Sunday’s coverage here.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez addressed supporters by speakerphone Monday afternoon from federal custody, offering his first public account of Sunday’s shooting.
Article continues below this ad
Speaking through a translator, Garces Perez said he was driving on Anderson Lane to make a DoorDash delivery when a vehicle pulled alongside him and tried to hit his car. Believing it was an aggressive driver, he continued driving.
Garces Perez said the vehicle did not activate its emergency lights or otherwise identify itself before the initial collision. According to his account, it sideswiped his car before agents turned on their emergency lights. He said he then tried to find a safer place to pull over after realizing the people behind him were federal immigration officers. Instead, he said, it struck his car again and officers shot him.
Garces Perez said he never got out of his vehicle before the shooting and that there was no foot pursuit. He said officers removed him from the vehicle only after he was shot and handcuffed.
He said he does not know how many times he was shot because he felt only one bullet wound. According to Garces Perez, one of the officers got into his vehicle and turned it off. He said he told officers he was in severe pain before he lost consciousness.
Article continues below this ad
Elizdar, wife of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, listens as her husband speaks by phone from the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall during a news conference at the Law Office of Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch in Austin on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, about the shooting by an ICE agent the previous day.
Jay Janner/Austin American-StatesmanGarces Perez also said he “is not doing well due to the gunshot wound” and has not received the medical care he requires. He said he repeatedly complained about being in pain while at Dell Seton Medical Center and did not receive proper treatment. According to Garces Perez, a doctor told him, “They’re in a hurry to get you out of there.”
He said he did not undergo surgery and that the bullet remains lodged near his spine. He said he was still actively bleeding when he spoke with his attorney Monday morning and spent the night in a cold room without a bed. He said a nurse gave him one pill Monday morning, but he remains in significant pain.
Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch also disputed the Department of Homeland Security’s description of Garces Perez’s immigration status. She said he entered the United States lawfully through the CBP One app in 2024, received a work permit and was seeking asylum. According to Lincoln-Goldfinch, Garces Perez updated his address with the immigration court, but a notice of a hearing was sent to a previous address, resulting in a deportation order after he did not appear. Lincoln-Goldfinch said she does not yet know when that deportation order was issued.
Article continues below this ad
The Austin American-Statesman has requested additional details from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security about the shooting but has not received additional comment beyond the statement DHS released Sunday night. In that statement, DHS said Garces Perez was in the country illegally and had a final order of removal. The Statesman has also requested comment from Dell Seton Medical Center regarding Garces Perez’s account of his medical treatment.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said she is filing a temporary restraining order and a habeas corpus petition in federal court to prevent Garces Perez from being removed from the country while the investigation into Sunday’s shooting continues.
— Julianna Duennes Russ, breaking and trending reporter and Lily Kepner, higher education reporter
Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said Monday that Wilber Rafael Garces Perez told her he did not know the people pursuing him Sunday were federal immigration officers because they were driving an unmarked black vehicle.
Article continues below this ad
Speaking at a news conference alongside leaders from the League of United Latin American Citizens, U.S. Reps. Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar and more than 20 community members, Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garces Perez told her an unmarked black vehicle sideswiped his car while he was driving in North Austin. Believing it was another driver, he made a U-turn, she said. According to Lincoln-Goldfinch, the vehicle struck his car again before an officer shot him in the back and pulled him from the car.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said her legal team has video that she said supports Garces Perez’s account and that there was no foot pursuit.
Lincoln-Goldfinch described the family’s search for Garces Perez after the shooting. She said his wife received a phone call from him around 12:30 p.m. Sunday in which he shouted that he had been shot and was in pain before the call disconnected.
According to Lincoln-Goldfinch, Garces Perez’s wife rushed to Dell Seton Medical Center but was told he was not a patient. She then went to the shooting scene before returning to the hospital. Although city officials later confirmed he was there, Lincoln-Goldfinch said hospital staff and security continued to deny he was a patient and escorted the family from the property. She said the family also saw reports that Garces Perez had died before learning he was alive.
Article continues below this ad
Lincoln-Goldfinch said neither Immigration and Customs Enforcement nor hospital staff informed the family of Garces Perez’s condition or whereabouts until about 10 a.m. Monday. She said he still had a bullet lodged in his back when he was released into federal custody Sunday afternoon, was not given pain medication, slept on the floor overnight and was taken to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall around 4 a.m. Monday, where she said he has since been interrogated.
She also called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release body camera footage within 24 hours of officer-involved shootings and urged Congress to prohibit the agency from conducting traffic stops.
LULAC leaders used the news conference to call for independent oversight of federal immigration officer use-of-force incidents. Roman Palomares, the organization’s national president, urged Congress to establish an independent body outside the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Justice to investigate such incidents. He also called for prosecutors to have clear authority to pursue criminal charges against federal officials who violate civil rights.
Doggett said he offered his “full and unqualified support” to LULAC’s calls for greater oversight. He said he hopes any demonstrations that follow Sunday’s shooting remain peaceful, encouraged supporters to carry more American flags at future protests and said, “We need to reject the un-Americanism that is reflected in these terrible policies.”
Article continues below this ad
LULAC CEO Juan Proaño said Garces Perez is being held at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall. He said the organization has seen video that it says shows officers ramming Garces Perez’s vehicle before firing at least five times. Proaño called on federal officials to disclose Garces Perez’s medical condition, allow his wife and attorney access to him and not remove him from the country while investigations into the shooting continue.
Casar said Garces Perez had no criminal record and called for a criminal investigation into the shooting.
“ICE has not made us more safe by detaining 5-year-olds, shooting delivery drivers or raiding construction sites. Austin will be safer without ICE,” Casar said, appearing to reference the deportation of Victor Martinez Nieto and his 5-year-old son, Liam Tadeo, in August, as well as the detention of four construction workers during an August traffic stop outside Austin City Hall.
Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion also criticized ICE, saying the agency has been acting like “secret police” and calling it “illegitimate.”
Article continues below this ad
— Julianna Duennes Russ, breaking and trending reporter
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez has a valid work permit, according to his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch.
Lincoln-Goldfinch’s account contrasted the Department of Homeland Security’s statement that Garces Perez resided in Texas illegally and had a final order of removal.
Article continues below this ad
In a new post on Instagram, Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garces Perez has a son with a disability, and he works to cover the expensive treatment and tests. He entered the country seeking asylum, she said.
Sunday night, he slept on the floor and received no pain medication, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
“We have confirmation that Wilber is being held at Pearsall for interrogation and still has the bullet lodged in his body,” she said.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the post. Lincoln-Goldfinch did not say in the post if she has talked to Garces Perez or federal officials.
Article continues below this ad
Lincoln-Goldfinch is expected to host a press conference at her office in Austin, where Roman Palomares, the national president of League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), is also expected to speak.
— Lily Kepner, higher education reporter
Workers with Pulice Construction paint over anti-ICE graffiti at the site where ICE agents shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez at the intersection of Research Boulevard and Anderson Square in Austin on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026.
Jay Janner, American-StatesmanOn Monday morning, workers with Pulice Construction painted over anti-ICE graffiti near the intersection of Research Boulevard and Anderson Square, where Garces Perez was shot Sunday. Flowers, candles and a sign reading “Justice 4 Wilber” were also placed near the shooting site.
Article continues below this ad
— Katey Psencik, breaking and trending editor
Flowers, candles and a sign reading “Justice 4 Wilber” are seen at the site where ICE agents shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez at the intersection of Research Boulevard and Anderson Square in Austin on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026.
Jay Janner/Austin American-StatesmanA video taken at the scene, and independently verified by the Statesman, shows Garces Perez sitting in the driver’s seat of a blue Toyota after the shooting. In the video, two federal immigration officers stand beside him before two Austin police officers arrive at the scene.
Article continues below this ad
In the video, one of the Austin police officers, who hasn’t been identified, asks one of the ICE agents whether emergency medical services are on their way, and the agent confirms EMS is en route. The video then shows Garces Perez being handcuffed and made to sit on the curb as an Austin police officer cuts his shirt open to expose one bleeding bullet wound in his back, directly below the nape of his neck.
— Julianna Duennes Russ, breaking and trending reporter
Attorney Kristen Etter confirmed to the Statesman that Wilber Rafael Garces Perez is being held at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, roughly 135 miles southwest of Austin.
Article continues below this ad
— Tony Plohetski, investigative reporter
Fifteen hours after a man shot by ICE agents was released from the hospital, attorneys say they have been unable to locate him as of 8 a.m. Monday, “which is highly unusual,” attorney Kristen Etter told the Statesman. “It has been 15 hours since ICE takes you, whisks you from the hospital, and we have not been able to locate him.”
She said her client has not shown up in traditional databases used by attorneys. “We have no idea what type of condition he is in.”
Article continues below this ad
— Tony Plohetski, investigative reporter
The Department of Homeland Security posted an official statement about the shooting on X late Sunday night.
“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 of removal, during a law enforcement operation today in Austin, TX,” the agency wrote.
Article continues below this ad
“The illegal alien’s condition is stable, and he is in federal custody pending removal. This is a developing situation, and we will update the public when more information becomes available.”
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
— Julianna Duennes Russ, breaking and trending reporter
Leave a Reply