Austin man shot by ICE agent faces assault, resisting charge
An Austin man is facing federal charges of assaulting and resisting a federal officer following a shooting incident involving an ICE agent. The suspect, a Venezuelan national, remains in custody while his legal team raises concerns about his medical treatment and confusion during the process.
Why it matters
The incident highlights ongoing tensions regarding federal immigration enforcement tactics and the treatment of detainees in the U.S. justice system.
Federal prosecutors have charged the Austin man an ICE agent shot earlier this month with a single count of resisting and assaulting a federal officer, according to court documents.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan national, was shot by an ICE officer in Austin on Sept. 20. He was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center, where he was released and taken into ICE custody three hours later with the bullet remaining in his back. He had been held at a detention center in Pearsall.
Garces Perez appeared before a federal court in Austin on Tuesday morning to be formally charged. Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, his lead attorney, said she saw him at the courthouse and he “was clearly very confused and distraught. He was in a lot of pain. He had not been given pain medication and he did not understand what was happening.”
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