ICE Gunfire Sparks Austin Uproar

September 22, 2026

Raised fist in foreground at a crowded street protest — Photo: Ink Drop / Shutterstock

An ICE officer shot and wounded a Venezuelan food delivery driver in North Austin, and within hours crowds filled the streets demanding answers.

Quick Take

An ICE officer shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, during an immigration operation in North Austin on September 20.
His attorney says he was moved from the hospital to a detention center while a bullet was still in his back.
DHS says he had a final removal order and claims the agent fired after he tried to ram an ICE vehicle.
Protesters gathered within hours, chanting “Abolish ICE” and “Stop ICE murder,” and at least four people were arrested.
Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI are now reviewing the shooting, but no body camera footage has been released.

Officer Shoots Delivery Driver During Enforcement Operation

Multiple news outlets confirm an ICE officer shot and wounded a man in North Austin on September 20 during a federal immigration operation. City officials said the man was in serious but stable condition after being hospitalized. The shooting happened while the man, later identified as a DoorDash driver, was working a delivery route in the area.

Austin immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch identified the man as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, a Venezuelan national representing him and his family. Her identification gave the public a name and a face behind the incident, quickly turning a local enforcement action into a citywide flashpoint.

Lincoln-Goldfinch also told reporters that agents moved Garces Perez from the hospital to a detention center while a bullet fragment was still in his back. That claim, if confirmed, raises questions about how injured detainees are treated after use-of-force incidents, though no medical records have been made public to verify the timeline.

Federal Account Points to Self-Defense Claim

The Department of Homeland Security says Garces Perez entered the country illegally under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal, and that he remains in federal custody pending removal. A separate account attributed to DHS says he tried to ram an ICE vehicle and “weaponized” his van in an attempt to run over an agent, prompting the officer to fire in what the agency describes as self-defense.

That self-defense claim is the strongest counter-evidence in the public record so far, but it has not been backed by released body camera footage, an incident report, or a sworn statement from the officer involved. Homeland Security Investigations, with help from the FBI, is now leading the review of the shooting.

Protesters Gather Fast, Officials Demand Investigation

Crowds formed near the shooting scene within hours, carrying signs reading “Stop ICE murder,” “Moms against ICE,” and “Abolish ICE”. Local officials, according to multiple reports, called for an independent investigation into the shooting soon after it happened, signaling that concern crossed beyond activist circles into city government.

At least four people were arrested during the demonstrations, according to local news coverage, as police and state troopers responded to the growing crowd. Protest coverage documented dispersal efforts and enforcement, but the underlying question — whether the shooting itself was justified — remains separate from the crowd-control story unfolding around it.

PROTESTS AND VIGIL FOLLOW ICE-INVOLVED SHOOTING IN AUSTIN
Protests and a vigil were held in Austin after an ICE agent shot and wounded a man during an incident Sunday. Officials said 28-year-old Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was in serious but stable condition.…

— CSB News USA (@csbnewsus) September 22, 2026

Why This Case Fits a Bigger Pattern

This shooting is not an isolated event. A 2026 American Civil Liberties Union report documented hundreds of force incidents by immigration agents nationwide, including chemical irritant use and physical restraint tactics used as default responses rather than last resorts. Congressional records note that immigration enforcement shootings have already drawn scrutiny in other cities this year, fueling both left and right frustration that federal agencies operate with too little outside oversight.

For now, the facts that both sides agree on are simple: an ICE officer shot an unarmed delivery driver, protests erupted almost immediately, and federal investigators are reviewing what happened. Whether the shooting was legally justified depends on evidence — body camera video, ballistics, sworn testimony — that has not yet been made public. Until it is, competing narratives from DHS and the family’s attorney will keep filling that gap.