# ICE officer who shot Austin man was new recruit without body camera

> A Venezuelan asylum-seeker was shot and potentially paralyzed by an ICE officer during a traffic stop in Austin, raising questions about the agency's tactics and training.
- Title: ICE officer who shot Austin man was new recruit without body…
- Summary: A Venezuelan asylum-seeker was shot and potentially paralyzed by an ICE officer during a traffic stop in Austin, raising questions about the agency's tactics…
- Keywords: ice, immigration and customs enforcement, austin texas, shooting, wilber rafael garcés pérez, venezuelan national, asylum-seeker, body camera, police shooting, deportation, use of force, news
- Source: HuffPost — https://huffpost.com/entry/ice-officer-austin-shooting-austin-body-camera_n_6ab2b475e4b043d6b568db81
- Published: 2026-09-22T20:29:13+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ice, immigration and customs enforcement, austin texas, shooting, wilber rafael garcés pérez, venezuelan national, asylum-seeker, body camera, police shooting, deportation, use of force, news
## ICE officer shoots asylum-seeker in Austin
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez during a traffic stop in Austin on Sunday, potentially leaving him paralyzed.
## Officer was new recruit without body camera
The ICE officer who fired the shots was reportedly a new recruit and was not wearing a body camera at the time of the incident, according to Department of Homeland Security officials.
## Victim's account contradicts official story
Pérez's attorney says agents in unmarked vehicles sideswiped his car before firing, and he didn't know he was dealing with ICE until he was shot. There was no foot chase, she said.

> There was not a foot chase as they said that there was.
## Pérez was legally in the country
Pérez entered the U.S. legally as an asylum-seeker in 2024 and had a valid work permit. He was shot after officers ran his license plate and found an outstanding deportation order.
## Bullet lodged, paralysis on left side
A bullet remains lodged in Pérez's upper torso. He was initially sent to a detention center 130 miles away before being returned to medical care for paralysis on his left side.

> I am not doing well due to the gunshot wound, and I have not received the medical attention that I require.
## Part of broader pattern of ICE shootings
The shooting follows an ICE officer killing Mexican construction contractor Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston in July. ICE arrests have surged to 50,000 a month this summer.
## Key takeaway

An ICE officer who was a new recruit and not wearing a body camera shot a legally present Venezuelan asylum-seeker during a traffic stop, leaving him potentially paralyzed and sparking scrutiny of ICE procedures.