Shot in the Back on Delivery, Then Jailed With Bullet Inside

A man out on a DoorDash run was shot from behind by an immigration officer, then woke up in a detention cell with the government's bullet still lodged against his spine. That sequence — a working stop turned shooting, then a hospital discharge turned custody transfer — is not in dispute. Almost everything that would explain it is. ^{7 9}

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, a Venezuelan national delivering food in North Austin, took a single round through his back below the neck on the afternoon of Sunday, September 20, 2026. The bullet stopped near his spine and surgeons left it in place. He was carried to Dell Seton Medical Center in serious but stable condition, discharged after only hours, and by Monday, September 21, he was more than 200 miles away at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall — wounded, detained, and still carrying the bullet. ^{4 7 9}

Even his right to be driving that street is now two different stories. His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, says he entered the United States in 2024 through the CBP One app, applied for asylum, obtained a work permit, has no criminal record, and fell into an in-absentia removal order only because a hearing notice went to an old address after he updated it. Federal officials describe a different paper man: entered under the prior administration, work permit expired in 2025, no current status, work authorization not lawful status, and a final removal order from an immigration judge. That file, not the delivery bag, is what made him a target. ^{3 7}

In his account, told in part by phone from detention, he was in a blue Toyota on an order when an unmarked black SUV sideswiped him. He did not know the occupants were officers. He made a U-turn under an overpass looking for a safer place to stop, was sideswiped again, then was shot through the passenger-rear area in the back and pulled from the car. He says agents did not identify themselves until after contact, that he tried to pull over, and that he never fled on foot. ^{3 5}

What is visible proves pursuit and sudden violence but not the decision to fire. The shooting happened just before 1 p.m. near Anderson Square at Research Boulevard, U.S. 183, and West Anderson Lane. A blue car with damage to its passenger-side door sat at the scene while Texas State Troopers blocked traffic. Austin police were not the shooting agency, but Austin's police chief said the man was pursued by ICE agents before he was shot. ^{4 8 11}

The video gap is now central. On Tuesday, September 22 at 6:45 p.m., Austin police released dashcam video, body-camera video from a responding officer, and cellphone video from an off-duty detective who happened to be in the area on personal errands. The material shows an earlier neighborhood stop minutes before, shots heard, and treatment at the car. It does not show the immigration officer firing. The shooting officer was not wearing his assigned body camera, had been hired last year from another federal law-enforcement agency, and was placed on administrative leave. ^{6 25 26}

Detention turned a gunshot wound into a second crisis over care. Family members and his lawyer say they were kept in the dark Sunday night, with Mayor Kirk Watson helping obtain basic confirmation. On Monday, September 21, Garces Perez spoke by phone from detention during a press conference in Austin with Lincoln-Goldfinch, with U.S. Rep. Greg Casar standing with her. He described no pain medication, interrogation, and a night without a bed on the floor, then numbness on his left side. His lawyer later said he had lost movement on his left side and was back in the hospital by Monday night for a second stay for partial paralysis before being sent back to Pearsall. Federal officials issued a claim-by-claim rebuttal: ICE does not decide hospital surgery, he is receiving round-the-clock care including pain medication, he slept on a bed, and the stop was targeted rather than random. ^{39 41 55 59}

The street answered before the investigations could. A memorial went up at the intersection Sunday. Anti-ICE protesters gathered for hours where the shooting occurred, followed by night and Monday demonstrations including at the Capitol involving La Frontera Unidad and others, with about 175 people reported at one Capitol protest and lawmakers, activists and representatives of LULAC and the NAACP demanding release, an independent probe rather than ICE investigating its own shooting, and an end to the operation in Austin. ^{11 32}

The legal and investigative scramble is now three tracks at once. Homeland Security Investigations is leading federally with FBI assistance. The Austin Police Special Investigations Unit and the Texas Rangers are reviewing locally, with Austin police and the Travis County District Attorney committed to an independent review — at least three agencies in total. Members of Congress including Castro and Casar demanded he not be deported as a witness and that camera material be released. Federal Judge Orlando Garcia temporarily blocked removal and ordered an in-person hearing for September 30, keeping a wounded detained witness with a bullet near his spine inside Pearsall while identification before contact, alleged foot flight, justification for firing, shot count, and quality of post-shot care await answers. ^{21 24 29}