New Details Emerge About ICE Officer Who Shot Man in Austin

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe officer was hired last year and was not wearing a body camera when he shot the delivery driver, according to current and former officials.Flowers and candles have been left at an intersection near where the shooting of Wilber Rafael Garces Perez took place in Austin, Texas.Credit...Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesSept. 23, 2026, 7:29 p.m. ETA Democratic member of Congress who visited the Venezuelan man shot by an immigration agent in Austin, Texas, demanded that federal officials allow the man to undergo surgery to remove a bullet that has remained lodged on his back for days.On Sunday, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a traffic stop while he was delivering food for DoorDash in Austin. He was taken to the hospital twice and taken back to a detention center each time.Greg Casar, a Democratic member of Congress who represents the Austin area, told reporters Wednesday that he visited Mr. Garces Perez at a detention center in Pearsall, Texas, that afternoon. Mr. Garces Perez said he saw a doctor who advised that he needed surgery to remove a bullet stuck on his back, near his neck, Mr. Casar said.“If Wilber and his wife decide that he needs to go through his surgery, then ICE needs to expedite his care,” Mr. Casar said. “I am making it very clear to every part of the federal government that ICE needs to take the medical care of Wilber Garces extremely seriously.”ImageWilber Rafael Garces PerezCredit...Kate Lincoln-GoldfinchMr. Garces Perez said Wednesday that he received a painkiller via injection that brought some relief for the first time since he was wounded, Mr. Casar said. He was using a wheelchair to move around and has a sling on his left arm, Mr. Casar said.“I checked his wound and saw the large wound on his back full of gauze, with of course blood accumulating in the gauze,” Mr. Casar said. He was “in rough physical shape.”Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, a lawyer for Mr. Garces Perez, has said that he was taken to a hospital twice since he was detained but remains in pain and in isolation.The news comes as new details about the ICE agent who shot him emerge. The ICE officer involved in the shooting was hired by the agency last year, according to a current and a former law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The officer was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting, according to a separate official and a former official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.Mr. Garces Perez is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge in San Antonio next week to plead his case. Ms. Lincoln-Goldfinch has asked for his release and the opportunity to seek legal status.On Monday, Mr. Garces Perez called into a media briefing from an immigration detention center and said that he was making a delivery on Sunday afternoon when a black S.U.V. tried to hit his car. He said he thought it was an aggressive driver and kept driving. Mr. Garces Perez said the S.U.V. then struck his car and turned on police lights after the collision. He was shot after the car was stopped.ImageKate Lincoln-Goldfinch, lawyer for Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, said he remained in pain and in isolation.Credit...Ronaldo Schemidt/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesA day later, representatives from the Department of Homeland Security disputed Mr. Garces Perez’s version of events and said he was receiving medical care “around the clock.” They also denied that federal immigration officials had refused to remove the bullet in his back.Mr. Garces Perez has maintained that he entered the United States in 2024 seeking asylum and later got a work permit. At one point, he changed his address, and a hearing notice was sent to his former address. His lawyer has also said that Mr. Garces Perez didn’t know that he had an immigration hearing and did not go, which precipitated a deportation order.The shooting was the second in Texas by an ICE agent since July and the latest in a string of similar episodes involving federal immigration agents across the nation. More than 20 people have been shot at by ICE agents since President Trump took office last year, nearly all in cars. Some of the incidents have turned fatal.The Homeland Security Investigations unit of D.H.S. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are leading the investigation into the shooting of Mr. Garces Perez, a spokesman for D.H.S. has said. The local district attorney is also investigating.Edgar Sandoval covers Texas for The Times, with a focus on the Latino community and the border with Mexico. He is based in San Antonio.Hamed Aleaziz covers the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy for The Times.Related ContentAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT