Austin ICE shooting sparks calls for independent probe after traffic stop

An ICE officer shot a Venezuelan man during a traffic stop in Austin on Sunday. The incident has triggered protests and demands for an independent investigation.

In Short

• The wounded man was hospitalised with serious but stable torso injuries
• Austin police said city officers were not involved in the operation
• His family said hospital updates were unclear before ICE custody disclosure

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, prompting calls for an independent investigation and drawing anti-ICE protesters to the scene. Local officials said the shooting happened after a traffic stop, but added that city police officers were not involved in the operation.

The man was taken to hospital after being shot once in the torso and was said to be in serious but stable condition. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not take part in the city news conference and did not respond to repeated requests for details.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said there were not many facts she could share so soon after the incident, but said her department's special investigation unit was at the scene. Mayor Kirk Watson said he wanted the city's police department to have a role in the investigation so it could provide "clear, third-party eyes" in the process. He said he did not think it would be appropriate for ICE to investigate the shooting on its own. Austin residents have "a right to feel safe in their city," Watson said, adding that a proper investigation would enhance credibility.

An immigration attorney representing the man's family identified him as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man. Attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a video posted on Instagram that she believed he had no criminal history and no final order of removal from the US, but later told The Associated Press that she did not know his current immigration status.

Lincoln-Goldfinch said the man's family had struggled to get information from the hospital about his condition or whereabouts. Just before 7 pm, she said, the man's wife was informed by the hospital's attorney that he had been released into ICE custody a few hours earlier. "No one bothered to update her," Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote in a text message to AP. It was not immediately clear whether he remained in hospital while in ICE custody or had been moved elsewhere.

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 in the early evening and traffic later resumed. A large law enforcement presence remained in the area as about a hundred protesters gathered. Some demonstrators shouted at police officers holding riot shields, while others called out as passing vehicles sounded their horns. One protester held a sign that read, "Nobody is safe" and, on the other side, "ICE Nazi."

Asked whether Austin authorities knew where the federal agent involved in the shooting was, Watson said: "We do not know that. But my hope would be that, an agent that's involved in an officer-involved shooting would not leave the city. Certainly not leave the state." The office of Travis County District Attorney Jos Pompa Garza said local police and prosecutors should be included in the investigation. "We further request cooperation from the federal government in giving us access to the evidence," the DA's office said in a statement on Sunday evening. US Representative Greg Casar, who represents parts of Austin, also called for transparency. "It is awful that this horror has come to our doorstep," Casar told reporters. "For Austin to be safe, ICE should end its surge here."

The shooting comes as ICE has increased enforcement across the US this summer, recording 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 in unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was taking his construction crew to a job site. Also in July, 25-year-old Johan Sebastian, a Colombian man, was shot by an ICE officer in Maine. The administration's enforcement efforts also faced widespread condemnation last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota. Sunday's shooting in Austin has now led to demands for answers over what happened, who is investigating it and where the wounded man is being held.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends