Federal officers operate after Congressman Greg Casar (D-TX) said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, US September 20, 2026.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the shooting happened after a traffic stop in northern Austin. Watson said he wanted Austin police and other local authorities involved in the investigation rather than leaving it solely to ICE. She cautioned that information about the incident was still preliminary. Austin police were not involved in the shooting, although local investigators were at the scene. The Travis County district attorney’s office also asked for local police and prosecutors to participate in the investigation and requested access to evidence held by federal authorities.
A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man in Austin, Texas, on Sunday during a brief foot pursuit, local officials said, as the incident drew protests and calls for an independent investigation.
His wife was later informed that he had been released into ICE custody several hours after the shooting.
The attorney said Garces Perez’s family initially struggled to obtain information from the hospital. It was not immediately clear whether he remained at the hospital or had been transferred elsewhere.
US Rep Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, had called for an independent investigation shortly after the shooting was reported.
“I will say, frankly, from my perspective, the credibility of ICE doing some form of investigation just by itself and excluding others would not be appropriate,” Watson said. He later sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security seeking an immediate, independent probe, the release of all footage from the shooting and accountability for any wrongdoing by the agent involved.