AUSTIN, Texas – A man who was shot by an ICE agent in North Austin has recently undergone surgery nearly two weeks following the incident. Wilber Perez is currently recovering in the hospital after surgeons successfully removed a bullet from his back.
The shooting occurred during a high-risk traffic stop on September 20, when Perez was pulled over. Community advocates have expressed serious concerns regarding transparency, particularly after court testimony revealed that one ICE agent was not equipped with a body camera, while another had deactivated theirs during the encounter, resulting in a lack of comprehensive records of the events leading up to the shooting.
Attorneys representing Perez, along with congressional leaders, have criticized ICE for the delay in providing medical care and are demanding further clarification regarding the agency’s enforcement tactics.
Legal Proceedings and Allegations
Perez faced a federal court hearing on Wednesday, where he was charged with assaulting, resisting, and interfering with a federal officer. His bond was denied, resulting in his transfer to federal criminal custody instead of remaining in federal immigration custody.
Details Surrounding the Shooting
Emergency crews were alerted to the shooting around 12:56 p.m. in the 8000 block of Anderson Square. Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter to find Perez with a gunshot wound, and he was transported to a local trauma center where he was reported to be in serious but stable condition.
Austin police chief Lisa Davis confirmed that the incident involved a federal agent from ICE, clarifying that local police were not involved in the shooting.
Community and Legal Responses
Congressman Greg Casar provided an update on Perez’s condition after visiting him in ICE custody, revealing that Perez was working as a DoorDash driver when he was sideswiped by an unmarked vehicle, which he did not initially realize was an ICE operation. Following the incident, he described how he made a U-turn only to be shot in the back of the neck by the agents who then pulled him from his vehicle.
Conflicting accounts have emerged regarding the nature of the encounter, with Perez’s attorney asserting that there was no foot pursuit, while ICE officials have claimed otherwise.
Perez, originally from Venezuela, entered the United States illegally and has a final order of removal. He has since been taken into custody at the South Texas ICE processing center in Pearsall.
Video Evidence and Accountability
Austin police have released body camera footage and videos from their response to the shooting, which appear to show Perez involved in a traffic stop with federal agents before allegedly leading them on a pursuit that culminated in the shooting. However, reports indicate that no body camera footage exists from the ICE agent involved in the incident, as noted by multiple federal law enforcement sources.
So far, the only publicly released footage comes from the Austin Police Department, raising further questions about accountability and transparency in the operation.
