The Department of Homeland Security’s investigative arm is leading a probe into a federal agent’s shooting of an immigrant from Venezuela in Austin, Texas, on Sunday afternoon. Protesters immediately gathered at the scene to denounce the latest instance of violence involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, with videos on social media showing them paralyzing traffic. Texas law enforcement was deployed to the scene to respond and attempt to disperse the gathering, CBS Austin reported, detaining multiple protesters and firing pepper balls into the crowds.
Watson said he was not surprised by ICE’s involvement, given “the nature of ICE and the way ICE is doing its business these days.” Watson and other Texas Democrats have also called for independent investigations into the incident. James Talarico, who’s campaigning for a U.S. Senate seat, said he was “closely following” the reports and urged a probe that released available footage of the shooting.
The District Attorney’s Office in Travis County, which includes Austin, requested to partner with city police in the investigation and for the federal government to cooperate in providing access to evidence. It added: “As has occurred in other jurisdictions, it is possible that this incident included violations of state law.” Rep. Greg Casar (D, Texas) wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE director David Venturella seeking a congressional briefing on Sept. 28, and asked the agencies to publicly release all body and dash camera footage from federal officers present at the scene and recorded communications between agents before and after the shooting.
Casar and Watson claimed that ICE activity in Austin has increased in recent weeks amid President Donald Trump’s implementation of his strict anti-immigrant agenda. The Texas Tribune reported that Texas state troopers received a call at around 12:50 p.m. from ICE officials, citing Sheridan Nolen, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Public Safety. The officials reportedly asked for help to pursue a blue Toyota Corolla.
But Nolen said that before the state troopers arrived, an ICE agent had shot a man, and upon the troopers’ arrival, they treated the driver of the Toyota Corolla. Austin-Travis County EMS received notification from city police of a shooting around 12:56 p.m. CT, according to its chief Rob Luckritz.
They identified a man who sustained a gunshot wound to the torso, with Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis adding that preliminary information pointed to a “small foot pursuit” happening before the shooting. Authorities then added that the man was transferred to the Dell Seton Medical Center in stable condition. Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, an Austin immigration lawyer who said she had been hired to represent the man who was shot and his wife, identified the man who was shot as a 28-year-old Venezuelan named Wilber Rafael Garces Perez.
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