Sept. 20 (UPI) — A federal immigration agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan man in Austin, Texas, state and local officials said, sparking protests in the city.
The incident happened around 12:56 p.m. CDT in North Austin, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz said during a news conference, adding that he believed the man had been shot once in the torso and was transferred to a local trauma center in serious but stable condition.
Little information about the shooting has been made public. The Austin Police Department said its officers were not involved.
The man has been identified as 28-year-old Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez by Austin immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, who said she is representing the family.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said via Instagram that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents boxed Garces Perez in his car and shot him through the vehicle’s rear window. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said during the press conference that a foot pursuit may have occurred, but the information was still preliminary. Lincoln-Goldfinch said that she hasn’t been able to speak to her client to confirm the claim.
She said Garces Perez was released to ICE custody at 4:30 p.m. and neither she nor his wife knows where he is.
“We will be pursuing in all ways for this family,” she said, while standing outside the Dell Seton Medical Center, where Garces Perez received treatment.
Watson said he was “very angry” about the shooting but “not surprised” due to earlier Immigration and Customs Enforcement-related shootings elsewhere in the country. He said he has requested that local officials be part of the investigation.
“Austinites have a right to know what happened. It’s their city. They have seen what’s happened in other places when there has been a shooting like this that ICE has been involved in.”
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it is requesting to be a co-equal partner with the Austin Police Department in the investigation and that it is requesting cooperation from the federal government to make evidence available in the case.
UPI has asked ICE for comment.
In a statement published online late Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security said Garces Perez had a final order of removal and was shot “during a law enforcement operation.”
“The illegal alien’s condition is stable, and he is in federal custody pending removal,” DHS said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch responded, saying a removal order does not explain why they shot her client.
“The public deserves the facts. His family deserves the facts. His family deserves answers,” she said on Instagram.
The shooting in Austin prompted protests in the city. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers fired pepper balls at some protesters crossing the street toward the scene of the shooting.
Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, has sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security demanding cooperation with an immediate and independent investigation.
“I am also demanding accountability for the agent responsible for any and all wrongdoing,” he said in the letter addressed to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
“The agent must be suspended and remain in Austin while the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.”
He also expressed concern online over Garces Perez’s removal from the hospital by ICE.
“If ICE deports him, the key witness to their shooting disappears,” he said in a statement.
“He must not be removed from this country and he must receive proper medical care.”
Federal immigration officers have been involved in a series of shootings amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, including several fatal shootings, two of them involving U.S. citizens.
According to local officials, federal immigration officers have increased operations in Austin since at least August, leading to numerous immigration arrests.
“We are disgusted by the continued recklessness and disregard for human life by this administration,” Austin City Council members Jose “Chito” Vela, Vanessa Fuentes and Jose Velasquez said in a joint statement.
“ICE has never made our communities safer, and today is a tragic reminder of this fact. ICE must leave Austin now.”
Source: U.S. News
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