Federal immigration agents shoot delivery driver in Texas and injure mistaken citizen in Illinois

The Austin shooting and immediate response

On Sunday, 20 September 2026, federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot 28-year-old Venezuelan food delivery driver Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in Austin, Texas. Garces Perez was completing an order for DoorDash when an unmarked federal sport utility vehicle collided with his car without sounding sirens or flashing emergency lights. According to Garces Perez, an agent fired through the car window as he sat in the vehicle attempting to park after making a U-turn. Austin Police Department footage recorded three gunshots before officers cut open the driver's shirt, revealing a gunshot wound near his upper back and spine. Department of Homeland Security officials stated that agents were attempting to pull over the vehicle and that the driver fled, almost striking an officer before an agent opened fire.

Medical condition and custody transfer

Garces Perez was admitted to Dell Seton Medical Center with a fractured collarbone, but hospital staff discharged him after four hours into ICE custody. Federal agents transported him approximately 100 miles to a detention facility in South Texas with the bullet remaining in his body. His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, reported that Garces Perez developed numbness and paralysis on the left side of his body during the trip after being denied adequate pain medication. He was subsequently returned to the hospital, where medical staff determined the bullet could not be extracted safely due to its proximity to the spinal cord.

“ICE has put Perez's life at risk by transferring him 100 miles to a detention centre with a bullet still lodged in his back, without pain medication and bleeding.”

Legal proceedings and agent scrutiny

Investigations revealed that the ICE officer who fired the shots was a recruit hired in 2025 who was not wearing his assigned body-worn camera at the time of the incident. Homeland Security Investigations is heading an inquiry into the shooting alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Travis County District Attorney Office formally requested that the Department of Homeland Security pause all deportation proceedings against Garces Perez so he can participate as a witness. Garces Perez entered the United States through a humanitarian parole program and holds a pending asylum application and a work authorization permit. In Venezuela, his mother Flor Perez stated that his earnings support his young son, who lives with cerebral palsy in Lara state.

“He is badly injured and in a lot of pain.”

Mistaken detention in Illinois and broader enforcement record

On the same Sunday morning in Evanston, Illinois, five ICE agents mistakenly detained a US citizen while executing an arrest warrant for another individual. The citizen sustained injuries to his head, neck and teeth during the encounter before agents verified his identity and departed after local residents gathered nearby. Evanston police noted that one agent had blood on his hands after struggling to handcuff the man, while the Department of Homeland Security stated that agents followed their training when the individual initially refused identification. Between January 2025 and September 2026, ICE personnel have participated in 42 shooting incidents, which have resulted in 11 fatalities. Austin Mayor and US Representative Greg Casar have joined calls for an independent inquiry into agency operations.

Total shooting incidents42

Fatalities11

Total shooting incidents

42

Fatalities

11

Data from the article text