Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stand at the scene of the scene of an I.C.E. shooting at the intersection of Anderson Square and Research Boulevard on Sunday, September 20, 2026 in North Austin.
Austin American-Statesman/Hearst Newspapers/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images
A federal agent shot and wounded a DoorDash delivery driver in the Texas capital on Sunday afternoon, September 20, amid an escalating presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers that Austin and federal leaders called a “disturbing pattern.”
Federal agent shoots, seriously injures Venezuelan national in Austin
Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz confirmed medics fielded calls from the Austin Police Department around 12:56 p.m. on Sunday about a reported shooting in the 8000 block of Anderson Square near southbound Research Boulevard, with medics arriving a few minutes later. Upon arrival, they found one man had been shot in the torso area and was in serious but stable condition.
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ATCEMS transported the man to Dell Seton Medical Center, and the United States Department of Homeland Security has since relocated him to an unknown facility. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson confirmed the Austin Police Department was not involved in the shooting itself, with Police Chief Lisa Davis reiterating the only role officers had in the incident was helping block some roads and aid in traffic control near the shooting site.
A vehicle with a damaged door and broken window is left in the street after an I.C.E. shooting at the intersection of Anderson Square and Research Boulevard on Sunday, September 20, 2026 in North Austin.
Austin American-Statesman/Hearst Newspapers/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images
Austin city, federal officials condemn ICE-involved shooting
While information remains limited at this time, Watson admonished ICE agents involved in the shooting, acknowledging his lack of surprise with the shooting given the history of ICE-involved shootings across the country.
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“I’m very angry about this,” Watson said, adding: “While I’m unhappy and angry about it, I’m not surprised at all. It’s happened in other cities with the nature of ICE and the way ICE is doing its business these days and the chaos we see it performing and fomenting, there’s no reason for us to be surprised by it.”
Watson said he’s asked Davis reach out to DHS to formally request the City of Austin and APD be involved in any investigations into the shooting, adding any scenario where DHS is the sole investigator “would not be inappropriate.”
“Austinites have a right to know what happened,” Watson said. “It’s their city. They have seen what’s happened in other places when there’s been a shooting like this that ICE has been involved in.”
Congressman Greg Casar, who represents Austin and previously served on Austin City Council, said the North Central Austin area has been a particular hotspot for ICE agents, stressing a “disturbing pattern” in ICE-involved shootings nationally and a rise in ICE stops and detainments in Austin.
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City officials said more information will be released to the public as those details become available.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer walks the scene of the scene of an I.C.E. shooting at the intersection of Anderson Square and Research Boulevard on Sunday, Sep. 20, 2026 in North Austin.
Austin American-Statesman/Hearst Newspapers/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images
What we know about Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, man shot by ICE
Austin-based immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said she is serving as the legal counsel representing Wilber Rafael Garces Perez — with the spelling of his first name corrected in later social media posts — identifying him as the man shot by ICE on Sunday afternoon. In a social media post late Sunday evening, Lincoln-Goldfinch said Perez was in the middle of a DoorDash delivery at the time of the shooting, alleging the hospital “refused to give his wife access to him or provide any meaningful details on his condition.”
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I am representing Wilbur – the man who was shot by ICE in Austin, TX while he was in the middle of a DoorDash delivery.
The hospital refused to give his wife access to him or provide any meaningful details on his condition.
— Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch (@AttorneyKateLG) September 21, 2026
On Instagram, Lincoln-Goldfinch personally thanked Watson for coming out to the Dell Seton Medical Center after Perez’s wife had spent hours trying to get information, allegedly to no assistance.
“We do not want to live in a country where ICE kills people for delivering DoorDash,” she said.
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Lincoln-Goldfinch added her legal team has been informed Perez was released from the hospital around 4:30 p.m. Sunday and ICE relocated him to an “undisclosed location.”
MySA reached out to DHS for a statement and more information regarding Perez’s status and Sunday’s shooting. We will update this story if we receive a response.