On Sunday, an ICE agent opened fire during a foot chase in North Austin, Texas, and struck a man, according to the Austin Police Department. At a press conference, officials said the victim was brought to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his torso and remains in serious but stable condition.
Sunday afternoon brought an incident near the intersection of Research Boulevard and Anderson Square. ABC News’ Austin affiliate KVUE reported that a blue Toyota Corolla at the scene showed bullet holes and damage to the passenger-side doors.
The Pursuit and the Shots Fired
During the press conference, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the man was shot during a foot chase, adding that the information was preliminary.
Authorities say the shooting happened during a targeted ICE operation. The individual struck by gunfire is believed to be a Venezuelan national who was in the United States illegally and had a final order of removal. It remains uncertain whether the man was the intended target of the operation.
ABC News has obtained video of the man sitting hunched over in the driver’s seat of a blue sedan while ICE officers surrounded the vehicle. He can be heard speaking in Spanish, stating that he was shot because he did not “brake.”.
The officers can be seen cutting the man’s shirt in the later part of the video, after he has been restrained, which exposes the gunshot wound on his back.
What Officials Are Saying
ABC News reports that a federal immigration officer fired “at least two shots” at a person on Sunday afternoon, according to Austin Councilmember Mike Siegel. Siegel said that an ICE Ford Expedition collided with the side of a blue Toyota sedan, and an ICE officer exited the vehicle and fired multiple shots, with at least two of them leaving visible bullet holes in the rear passenger window.
A federal immigration officer fired “at least two shots” at an individual on Sunday afternoon, and Siegel confirmed it. He is collaborating with city officials to make sure the ICE officer who shot the individual is not permitted to leave Texas.
In the words of Siegel himself, he remarked that “The crime scene was entirely controlled by ICE … HSI, Homeland Security Investigations, as well as state police, Department of Public Safety, and so the city police were not being permitted to conduct a crime scene investigation,”.
Kirk Watson, the mayor of Austin, released a statement in which he said he is “very angry and extremely disappointed that a person was shot on the streets of Austin by ICE.”.
“While I’m angry and disappointed, I’m not surprised. This has happened in other cities. With the rogue nature of ICE and the chaos we’re seeing fomented by ICE, there’s no reason to be surprised. Austinites have a right to know what happened and they have a right to feel safe in their community,” Watson wrote on X.
The Scene and the Protest
A large police presence was joined by a fast-growing group of protesters at the scene. Austin Police directed all questions about the shooting to ICE, which has not answered ABC News’ request for comment.
How the Agencies Responded
| Agency | Role in the incident | Status |
|---|---|---|
| ICE | Carried out the operation and fired the shots | Refused to comment on the incident |
| HSI | Present at the crime scene | Controlled the scene |
| DPS | State police present | Controlled the scene |
| Austin Police | Referred questions to ICE | Controlled the scene |
| KVUE | Covered the story | Reported the video |
The Video Evidence
The video captures the man seated in the driver’s seat before he is handcuffed and his shirt cut. It shows the moment he explains that he was shot because he did not brake.
A Controlled Crime Scene
Siegel’s account raises a central question: who controls the investigation of a federal officer’s shooting in a Texas street? The city police were not allowed to conduct a crime scene investigation, according to Siegel.
A second question arises from this: what becomes of the facts when the agency in question is able to control the scene for itself?
| Fact | Status |
|---|---|
| Shots fired: at least two | Confirmed by Siegel |
| Victim in serious condition: stable | Confirmed by officials |
| Target of operation: unknown | Not established |
| ICE response: none | ICE has not commented |
The Reaction So Far
Watson’s statement reflects a familiar pattern: outrage, but no surprise. ICE’s behavior has drawn criticism from local officials across the country, and this incident has prompted immediate action from Austin’s city council.
The facts are currently only preliminary, and the questions remain unresolved.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the local investigation into the incident and is against any federal agency claiming its own authority over it. ICE has not answered ABC News’ request for comment and has controlled the crime scene, according to Austin Councilmember Mike Siegel, leaving the city police unable to investigate. The paper has long argued that power concentrated in one place gets abused, and an agency writing its own authority over an officer’s shooting is exactly the kind of concentration that needs pushing back.
The video evidence and the mayor’s statement show a pattern of ICE officers acting without accountability, and the paper supports local officials who are fighting to keep the investigation independent.
The reader should watch for ICE’s next move, and whether the city police are allowed to do their job without federal interference.
Source material: “ICE officer shoots and injures man in Austin, police say,” ABC News.
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