A 28-year-old Venezuelan man is in serious but stable condition after being shot in the torso by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Austin, Texas. The incident occurred on the city’s north side on Sunday afternoon following a traffic stop.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis confirmed that local police were not involved in the operation or the shooting. The department’s special investigation unit has been deployed to the scene to conduct an inquiry. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not participate in a subsequent news conference and has not provided further details regarding the incident.
The man was identified by immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez. Lincoln-Goldfinch stated that the man’s family has faced difficulties obtaining information from the hospital regarding his status or location. While she initially suggested he had no criminal history or final order of removal, she later clarified to the Associated Press that she did not have definitive information regarding his current immigration status.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson expressed a desire for the local police department to maintain a role in the investigation to ensure transparency. Watson stated that he does not believe it is appropriate for ICE to conduct an internal investigation alone. When asked about the whereabouts of the federal agent involved, Watson noted that city officials do not currently know the agent’s location, though he expressed hope that the individual would remain in the state during the investigation.
The shooting drew approximately 100 protesters to the scene, where some demonstrators confronted police officers. U.S. Representative Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, called for transparency and criticized the recent increase in ICE enforcement activities in the region.
The incident follows a period of heightened enforcement by federal immigration authorities, with ICE reporting more than 50,000 arrests per month during July and August. In July, a separate incident in Houston resulted in the fatal shooting of 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE officer during a vehicle pursuit.
Article source: www.aljazeera.com | Image credit: www.aljazeera.com