A 28-year-old man who was shot in the back by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin on Sunday has still not received adequate medical care, his lawyer Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said on Instagram.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez is being held in isolation in a non-medical bed at an ICE detention facility in Pearsall, roughly 130 miles southwest of Austin, Lincoln-Goldfinch said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch has filed a federal lawsuit demanding Garces Perez be freed from ICE detention. A judge has set a hearing for Sept. 30 in San Antonio and ordered that Wilber must be present.
In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said video taken by an off-duty APD detective indicated there was a pursuit between ICE and Garces Perez prior to the shooting. The video — filmed on the detective's personal cellphone and dashcam — shows Garces Perez's blue vehicle pulled over by the ICE agents on Anderson Square, just south of U.S. 183 and the scene of the eventual shooting.
A second video, taken by the detective after he went inside a nearby store for 10-15 minutes, includes the sound of multiple gunshots fired under the highway, Davis said.
The video and description from the city's police chief appear to conflict with the initial version of the story told by Garces Perez through his attorney. She told the Austin American-Statesman that ICE will need to release its video to provide a full picture of what happened.
Chief Davis acknowledged the APD detective's video does not show what happened in between the first location and the scene of the shooting. She said she did not know if her department had already reached out to DHS for video of the incident.
Garces Perez was shot by ICE near U.S. 183 and Anderson Square while delivering DoorDash orders, Lincoln-Goldfinch said. Garces Perez said an unmarked black vehicle tried to sideswipe his car. He said when he realized they were ICE agents, he made a U-turn so he could pull over, but they sideswiped him again, exited their car and shot him in the back of the neck, his attorney said.
A third video released by APD on Tuesday, filmed by an officer's body camera, shows Garces Perez sitting in his car before being removed by officers. One officer then cuts open the back of his shirt and reveals a gunshot wound.
ICE has not released an account of the events leading up to the shooting. In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security disputed claims made about Garces Perez's care while in detention.
"Aliens in ICE custody receive a higher standard of living than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens," the agency said. In an emailed statement, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, "Contrary to their claims, this person is an illegal alien who has no legal status to be here and has been given some of the best medical care he's ever received in his life."
DHS said that Garces Perez was the subject of a "targeted vehicle stop" by ICE and that he then attempted to evade arrest.
The Travis County District Attorney's Office said Tuesday it sent a letter to director of ICE and the secretary of DHS requesting to halt Garces Perez's removal proceedings while its investigation into the shooting continues.
APD and District Attorney José Garza said they are independently investigating the shooting. Chief Davis said she had no reason to believe that DHS will withhold information from the department. Even if that were to happen, APD would continue on with its investigation, she said.
Garces Perez was briefly taken to a hospital Monday evening after he was unable to lift his left arm and was treated with a morphine drip, his lawyer said. He was brought back to the detention facility around 12 a.m. and given ibuprofen and Tylenol to treat the pain, she said. The bullet from Sunday's shooting is still lodged in his body near the back of his neck, she said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garces Perez's communication privileges were revoked after he spoke to reporters over the phone during a Monday press conference. He told reporters in Spanish that he was "not doing well due to the gunshot wound" and that he hadn't received adequate medical attention at Dell Seton Medical Center in Austin, which he was sent to soon after the shooting Sunday. When he asked if the bullet would be removed, he said a doctor told him, "they're in a hurry to get you out of here."
In an email, an Ascension Seton spokesperson said hospital staff "strictly followed" its policies and procedures for interacting with law enforcement but did not specify what those procedures are or confirm details about Garces Perez's hospital visit.
"Our standard policies around disclosure of health information ensure we comply with legal requirements while protecting the privacy and other rights of our patients and visitors," the spokesperson wrote. Ascension Seton owns and operates the Dell Seton Medical Center.
During the city news conference on Tuesday, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said, "If it were me, I would hope that I would have more than a few hours in the hospital if I was shot in the back."
In a post on X on Tuesday, DHS said ICE will not slow down operations in Austin after the shooting.
"Our mission is to administer the laws passed by Congress — we do not pick and choose which laws to enforce or where we enforce them," the post read.
In a statement released late Sunday evening, DHS said ICE is investigating the shooting with assistance from the FBI. DHS said Garces Perez entered the U.S. illegally under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garces Perez entered the U.S. legally through a Biden-era program and has a valid work permit.
At the end of Tuesday's news conference, Watson asked for protests to be peaceful.
"Let's keep it that way, let's do it the Austin way," he said.
This story has been updated.
KUT's Chelsey Zhu, Neena Satija and Olivia Aldridge contributed reporting to this story.
Copyright 2026 KUT News
