Authorities in Austin said Sunday a man identified as Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez is in “serious but stable condition” after being shot in the torso, the result of an ICE vehicle pursuit in Austin’s north side. The shooting of Garcés Perez is the second ICE-related shooting in a major Texas city in recent months, with Sunday’s incident in Austin following the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston in July.
Sunday’s shooting in Austin is now drawing attention nationwide. What is there to know about the latest Texas resident shot by ICE? Learn more below:
Garcés Perez, 28, is a Venezuelan native, per the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). A statement from DHS on Sunday referred to Garcés Perez as an “illegal alien” who entered the United States during the Biden administration. Garcés Perez was arrested in a “law enforcement operation,” per DHS, and he will be placed in federal custody following his release from Dell Seton Medical Center.
Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Garcés Perez’s attorney, says Perez is an asylum seeker from Venezuela. He is married to a woman who has legal status to be in the United States, per NPR. His wife was reportedly not allowed to visit Garcés Perez at Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin on Sunday, and neither ICE nor Austin officials have provided an update on Garcés Perez’s medical status as of Monday morning.
“We not only were lied to and told that he wasn’t there, but we were thrown off the hospital grounds by several officers who treated us as trespassers,” Lincoln-Goldfinch told NBC News on Sunday. “We are deeply concerned that his wife and family have not been permitted to see him and have not received a meaningful update regarding his current condition or whereabouts.”
Garcés Perez works as a DoorDash driver in Austin, per multiple reports. He was delivering food just before 1 p.m. Sunday, then was stopped by ICE agents at the intersection of Anderson Square and Research Boulevard.
Video captured and livestreamed on Facebook showed gunshots fired at Garcés Perez’s car. A subsequent video from ABC News shows Garcés Perez sitting on the ground with his hands handcuffed behind him, and a shirt cut open shows an apparent gunshot wound in his back.
DoorDash confirmed the shooting of Garcés Perez on Sunday, per NBC News. The company is currently investigating the incident, but has yet to release a statement as of Monday morning.