An ICE Officer Shot Him. The Officer’s Body Camera Wasn’t Recording.

Aqua RichJo | September 24, 2026

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was shot during an ICE stop in Austin. The officer who fired had been issued a body camera but was not wearing it, according to news reports. Now Garces Perez is in ICE detention, and a member of Congress says he needs surgery to remove a bullet near his spine.

A camera cannot answer every question about a shooting. Here, the footage that might show the moment an officer fired reportedly does not exist. Another officer wore a camera, but NBC News reported that its footage did not capture the shooting. Why the shooting officer was not wearing his issued camera remains unknown.

What we know about his medical condition

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar visited Garces Perez at an ICE detention facility in Pearsall on September 23. Casar said a specialist had recommended surgery to remove the bullet. He described Garces Perez as using a wheelchair, with his left arm in a sling, bruising on his torso and severe pain on his left side. Those details come from Casar’s account of the visit; No Chill News has not reviewed Garces Perez’s medical records or confirmed whether surgery has since taken place.

Questions about his care began before that visit. The Texas Tribune reported on September 22 that his release from an Austin hospital and subsequent detention had raised concerns from his attorneys about the treatment he was receiving. The public still needs a clear answer about his treatment plan and who is responsible for carrying it out while he remains in custody.

Two accounts of the stop. No camera footage of the shot.

Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man, was shot on September 20 during an immigration stop in North Austin. He has said that an unmarked SUV struck his car before he understood officers were trying to stop him, and that he was shot after asking to pull over somewhere safer. The Department of Homeland Security says the shooting followed an attempt to evade arrest. Those accounts conflict, and the circumstances of the shooting have not been resolved.

The missing camera footage makes an independent accounting harder. According to reporting cited by The Texas Tribune, the officer who fired was issued a body camera but was not wearing it. NBC News reported that a second officer’s camera did not capture the shooting itself. That does not establish what happened during the stop; it establishes a serious gap in the available evidence.

The answers still owed

Garces Perez’s attorneys have petitioned a federal court to block his deportation and seek his release from detention. A hearing was set for September 30. His medical needs and that court case are moving forward while basic questions about the shooting remain unanswered.

No Chill News wants ICE and DHS to answer plainly: What body-camera rule applied to the officer who fired? Why was he not wearing his camera? What footage from other officers or nearby cameras has been preserved? Who reviewed the use of force? And what medical care has Garces Perez received since Casar’s visit?

A man was shot, reportedly needs surgery and remains in federal custody. The public deserves a documented account of the shooting and his care—not guesses where the camera should have provided evidence.

Reporting basis: Zach Leggio and Alex Nguyen’s September 23 report and the September 22 medical-care report in The Texas Tribune. No Chill News has not independently interviewed Garces Perez, his attorney, Rep. Casar or federal officials, or obtained medical records or shooting footage.