A US immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) officer shot and wounded a man in Austin, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, local authorities said, and anti-ICE protesters quickly gathered at the scene.
The man was in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being shot in the torso on the capital city’s north side, Austin officials said at a news conference.
The department of homeland security, which oversees ICE, did not participate in the news conference and didn’t respond to repeated requests for details.
City police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, which occurred after a traffic stop, Austin police chief Lisa Davis said while briefing reporters with the city’s mayor and other officials.
Mayor wants city police involved in investigation
Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said he wants the city’s police department to have a role in the investigation so it can provide “clear, third party eyes” in the process. Watson said he does not think it would be appropriate for ICE to conduct an investigation on its own.
Authorities deployed non-lethal weapons near a demonstration where a man was shot in his vehicle by an ICE officer in Austin. Picture: (Joel Angel Juarez)
Austin residents have “a right to feel safe in their city”, Watson said. A proper investigation will only enhance credibility, he said.
The chief said there were not many facts she could provide so soon after the incident but added her department’s special investigation unit was at the scene.
The Texas department of public safety (DPS) said it received a request from ICE for assistance with a vehicle pursuit at about 12.50pm. By the time DPS troops arrived, the shooting had taken place, the department said on Sunday night.
Attorney says man shot is from Venezuela
An immigration attorney representing the man’s family identified him as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan.
Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a video posted to her Instagram account she believed he had no criminal history and no final order of removal from the US, but later said she did not know his current immigration status.
The man’s family has struggled to get any information from the hospital about his status or location, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
Just before 7pm, the man’s wife was told by the hospital’s attorney he had been released into ICE custody a few hours earlier, Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote in a text to AP.
“No-one bothered to update her,” she wrote.
A vehicle with a damaged door and holes in the window after a man was shot in his vehicle. Picture: (Aaron E. Martinez)
It wasn’t immediately clear if the man remained hospitalised while in ICE custody or had been transferred elsewhere.
Protesters arrive at the scene
A dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger side door and what appeared to be bullet holes. The car was towed away on Sunday night and traffic began moving again.
A large law enforcement presence was present along with a crowd of about 100 protesters. Some demonstrators swore at police officers holding riot shields, while others yelled as passing cars hooted in support of the protest. One man held a sign saying, “Nobody is safe” and on the other side “ICE Nazi”.
The vehicle driven by the man shot in Austin. Picture: (Aaron E. Martinez)
Asked if Austin authorities knew where the involved federal agent is, given that agents have left states after previous shootings nationwide, the mayor said: “We do not know. My hope would be that an agent involved in a shooting would not leave the city. Certainly not leave the state.”
The office of Travis County district attorney José Pompa Garza asked that local police and prosecutors be included in the investigation.
“We further request co-operation from the federal government in giving us access to the evidence,” the DA’s office said on Sunday night.
ICE officers at the scene. Picture: (Aaron E. Martinez)
Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, called for transparency as the shooting is investigated.
“It is awful this horror has come to our doorstep,” Casar told reporters. “For Austin to be safe, ICE should end its surge here.”
Surge in ICE enforcement operations
The shooting comes after ICE increased enforcement across the country in summer, producing more than 50,000 arrests a month for the first time in its history in July and August.
In July, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after federal agents driving unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.
Also in July, 25-year-old Johan Sebastián, a Colombian man, was shot by an ICE officer in Maine. The officer is an army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood and never should have been given a badge and gun to patrol American streets, said several of his close relatives.
The administration’s enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.
AP