AUSTIN, Texas (KEYE) — Anger and calls for accountability continued to build in the Austin area after an ICE agent shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in North Austin on Sunday, with students planning walkouts and demonstrators gathering at the Texas Capitol for a second straight night.
Posts online called for students from high schools in Pflugerville ISD to gather at the Pflugerville Municipal and Justice Center late this morning. Another post called for students at Hays CISD high schools to walk out.
Politicians also continued to weigh in on X.
State Rep. James Talarico wrote: “He has no criminal record. An ICE agent shot him anyway. He slept on a prison cell floor with a bullet still lodged in his back.”
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia wrote on X: “ICE is out of control.” She also wrote, “We need answers. Release the body camera footage.”
Many people have called for the full video and a transparent investigation. Roman Palomares, the national president of LULAC, said, “We want an independent oversight. It is time for independent oversight. LULAC calls on Congress to create a body outside of DHS, outside of ICE and outside the Department of Justice, with the power to investigate every use of force by immigration agents.”
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On Monday night, about 100 people gathered outside the Texas Capitol calling for answers after the shooting. The demonstration stayed peaceful.
Protesters said they were angry about what happened and worried about ICE operations in Austin.
It was the second night in a row of protests. Austin police reported multiple officers suffered minor injuries during Sunday night’s protests after demonstrators threw rocks, concrete and water bottles at them. Police and Texas DPS fired pepper balls after repeated orders to leave, and Austin police said multiple people were arrested.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said, “Be clear, acts of violence toward our officers or others will result in an arrest. We will protect those exercising their rights, our officers, and the broader community.”