New video reviewed as Austin police, Texas Rangers investigate ICE shooting

UPDATE (6:30 PM) – Reps. Castro and Casar will visit Wilber at the Pearsall facility, where he has been returned after a brief hospitalization.

AUSTIN, Texas — The ICE officer who shot a Venezuelan delivery driver in Austin over the weekend had been assigned a body-worn camera but was not wearing it during the shooting, according to a report from NBC News correspondent Julia Ainsley.

Ainsley reported on X that another ICE officer at the scene was wearing a body camera and recorded part of the encounter. However, the available video does not show the shooting itself, according to two Department of Homeland Security officials.

The new report comes as Austin police and Texas Rangers continue gathering video and investigating the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28.

During a press conference, Austin police said investigators have obtained video showing a vehicle pursuit through nearby neighborhoods. Police said they are still working to establish what happened between the initial encounter and the shooting.

“There is camera footage out there that officers are collecting,” Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said, adding that investigators are canvassing businesses and asking the public to submit any video they may have captured.

Police said investigators have seen video showing two ICE officers at Garcés Pérez’s vehicle window, but it is unclear how long they had been speaking with him before the available video began.

When asked whether there was evidence of a foot chase before the shooting, police said there was not.

Investigators said they have not yet determined whether there was a justifiable reason for the shooting. Austin police said they were only hours into the investigation and are working to piece together the timeline using surveillance cameras, bystander video and other evidence.

The department’s Special Investigations Unit is working alongside the Texas Rangers, police said. Officials said they communicate daily with federal authorities but had not yet requested body-camera video or other footage directly from the Department of Homeland Security.

Garcés Pérez was shot Sunday during an ICE operation on Austin’s north side. His attorney has said he was working as a DoorDash delivery driver when he was shot.

The Department of Homeland Security has said Garcés Pérez had a final order of removal. His attorney has disputed parts of the government’s account and said he entered the United States through the CBP One program while seeking asylum.

After the shooting, Garcés Pérez was treated at a hospital before he was transferred to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said Garcés Pérez was later taken back to the hospital because he was in significant pain and still had a bullet lodged in his left side.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Garcés Pérez’s deportation, according to his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch.

Lincoln-Goldfinch said her office filed a federal lawsuit on his behalf. She said the judge ordered Garcés Pérez to be present for his first hearing, scheduled for Sept. 30, meaning he cannot be deported before then.

“For now, we have secured a temporary block on his deportation while his case moves forward,” Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote in a Facebook post.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said he was troubled that Garcés Pérez was taken from the hospital without his spouse being told.

“You always hope under the circumstances that somebody’s going to get the full medical care that they need and deserve,” Watson said.

Watson said he could not judge the medical decisions made in the case, but added that he would expect more than a few hours in the hospital if he had been shot in the back.

Police said they have not received an update on Garcés Pérez’s condition. Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the FBI, is also investigating the shooting.

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