Full Breakdown
ICE Agent Shoots DoorDash Driver in Austin
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
On September 20, 2026, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan delivering for DoorDash, on the north side of Austin near Anderson Square and Research Boulevard. He was hit in the torso/back, was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center in serious but stable condition, and was transferred later that evening to the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall while a bullet remained lodged near his spine.
Background & Context
The incident occurred amid a surge in ICE operations under President Donald Trump’s second term, which has produced more than 20 shootings by on-duty ICE or Customs and Border Protection agents, eight of them fatal. Texas has seen two prior ICE-related shootings this year, including the July killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. Advocacy groups say the pattern reflects a broader “immigration crackdown” that intensifies street-level enforcement.
Timeline
- September 20, 2026 (?12:45 p.m.) – ICE agents checking license plates stop Garces Perez’s blue Toyota Corolla; he attempts to flee.
- ?12:56 p.m. – Austin-Travis County EMS receives the call; paramedics arrive within four minutes.
- Shortly before 1 p.m. – A brief foot pursuit (city officials) or a vehicle sideswipe (victim’s attorney) precedes the officer’s discharge of fire.
- ?4:30 p.m. – Hospital staff release Garces Perez into ICE custody; he is transported to Pearsall.
- September 21, 2026 – Lincoln-Goldfinch holds a press conference; Garces Perez calls in from detention, protests erupt at the Capitol and the shooting site.
Data & Statistics
- >= 20 people shot by ICE/CBP agents during the second Trump administration, 8 of them fatally.
- This is the third ICE-involved shooting in Texas since March 2025.
Official Statements & Responses
- Department of Homeland Security announced that Homeland Security Investigations, with FBI assistance, is leading the probe; the agency described the victim as “in stable condition” and “in federal custody pending removal.”
- Roman Palomares, national president of LULAC, urged Congress to create an independent body to investigate every use of force by immigration agents.
Criticism & Opposition
- Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch (immigration attorney) asserted that ICE agents never used lights or sirens, sideswiped the car, and shot Garces Perez without warning, then transferred him to a detention center where he slept on the floor without pain medication. She called the shooting “absolutely unjustified” and described ICE agents as excessively equipped and insufficiently trained.
- Rep. Sylvia Garcia highlighted that the victim “has no criminal record” and questioned the necessity of lethal force.
- LULAC demanded independent oversight and an end to ICE traffic stops.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Foot pursuit narrative: City officials (Chief Davis, CBS, NBC) cite a brief on-foot chase preceding the shot.
- Sideswipe/vehicle-boxing narrative: Lincoln-Goldfinch, video evidence, and several eyewitnesses describe an unmarked ICE SUV ramming the Corolla, boxing it in, and firing through the rear window without a stop request.
- Agency transparency: DHS has not released body-camera or dash-cam footage, and the identity of the officer remains undisclosed, leaving the precise sequence of events unverified.
What’s Next
Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI will continue the federal inquiry, while Austin police, the Texas Rangers, and the city’s Special Investigations Unit conduct parallel reviews. Lawmakers and civil-rights groups are pressing for the release of any body-camera or dash-cam recordings and for congressional legislation establishing an independent oversight body for ICE use-of-force incidents. No specific hearing dates have been announced.