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An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and injured a man on Sept. 20 in Austin, Texas, officials said, the latest shooting involving federal officers in the United States this year.
Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckwritz said at a news conference that the department was notified of the shooting at about 12:56 p.m. local time. He said the man, whom city officials did not identify, was taken to a local hospital in serious but stable condition with one gunshot wound.
The Austin American-Statesman, citing the city's communications office, reported that the injured person was taken to a hospital but was alert and able to speak. "Austin police officers were not involved in the situation, and we do not know what led to the incident," the city told the newspaper.
The man was identified as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, of Venezuela, by his lawyer Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, NPR and CBS News reported. USA TODAY reached out to Lincoln-Goldfinch's office for confirmation.
Lincoln-Goldfinch told CBS that she had not received an update on her client's condition or whereabouts for at least six hours. She said Garces Perez is married to a woman who has legal status to be in the United States, and he had called his wife to tell her he had been shot inside his car, according to NPR.
Local TV news coverage showed protesters gathered across the street from a blue Toyota Corolla that had sustained damage to the passenger-side door, as ICE agents stood nearby.
USA TODAY reached out to Austin officials and the Austin Police Department for comment. USA TODAY also attempted to reach the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but multiple emails sent to the departments' publicly available media addresses were rejected.
