A Venezuelan man shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, Texas, has said federal agents struck his vehicle twice before an officer opened fire, as questions grow over the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28, was shot on Sunday while working as a DoorDash delivery driver in north Austin. He survived the shooting but was taken into ICE custody after receiving treatment at a hospital.
Speaking by telephone during a news conference organised by his lawyer, immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Pérez said he was driving when an unmarked vehicle carrying immigration officers first sideswiped his car.
According to Pérez’s account, the officers initially did not activate emergency lights or tell him to stop. He said he made a U-turn while looking for somewhere to pull over, after which the federal vehicle struck his car for a second time.
Pérez said an officer then shot him while he was still inside his vehicle.
His lawyer said Pérez was shot in the back and suffered a fractured clavicle. The bullet was not removed because of its location near his spine.
Despite the injury, he was discharged from the hospital within hours and transferred to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, about 130 miles southwest of Austin.
Pérez complained that he remained in considerable pain and said he had been made to sleep on the floor at the detention facility without receiving the level of medical treatment he believed his injury required. His attorney later said he was returned to a hospital as concerns over his condition continued.
Some details of Pérez’s account have not yet been independently established.
Austin police initially said the shooting followed a brief foot pursuit. Pérez, however, said he was shot while inside his vehicle. Video recorded by a bystander captures part of the confrontation and the sound of gunfire, but it does not by itself resolve all questions about what happened before the shooting.
The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that Pérez was the subject of immigration enforcement. DHS said he entered the United States illegally and was under a final order of removal.
His legal representatives dispute aspects of that description. They say Pérez entered the United States through a legal process in 2024 and obtained authorisation to work. His attorney said a notice concerning an immigration hearing was sent to an old address, resulting in him missing the hearing and subsequently receiving a removal order.
The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly provided a detailed account explaining why the ICE officer fired at Pérez.
The shooting has prompted demands from Austin officials and immigrant-rights advocates for greater transparency.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson expressed anger over the incident and called for a full investigation, while U.S. Representative Greg Casar demanded accountability and the release of evidence that could establish exactly what happened.
Local and federal authorities are investigating the shooting, with the FBI providing assistance.
The incident comes amid increased scrutiny of the use of force by federal immigration officers as the Trump administration continues an intensified immigration enforcement campaign across the United States.
For investigators, a central issue will be establishing what happened during the encounter between Pérez and the immigration officers, including whether the agents properly identified themselves, why the vehicles collided, what Pérez did immediately before the gunfire and what prompted the officer to shoot.
Until those investigations are completed and additional evidence is released, Pérez’s description of the two collisions and the events immediately preceding the shooting remains his account of the encounter rather than an established official finding.
