A federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and wounded a man in Austin, Texas, on Sunday afternoon, local and state officials confirmed.
The shooting occurred around 12:55 p.m. near a highway overpass in the 800 block of Anderson Square in North Austin. The man, whose identity was not released, was struck once in the torso and taken to a trauma center, where he was listed in serious but stable condition, according to Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz. Luckritz said he could not confirm whether the man was shot from the front or behind .
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the shooter was identified as an ICE agent. City police were not present during the incident, which Davis described as involving a brief foot pursuit. Photographs from the scene showed a dark blue Toyota Corolla with damage to its passenger side and what appeared to be bullet holes in the rear window, though Davis said she could not confirm reports that the agent fired through the window .
Mayor Kirk Watson called for an independent investigation, stating it “would not be appropriate” to allow ICE to conduct the probe. “A person being shot on the streets of Austin by someone purporting to be law enforcement, particularly when it’s ICE, is something that causes me to be unhappy and angry,” Watson said. He added that he was “not surprised at all” by the shooting, citing “the nature of ICE and how it’s doing its business” .
Davis said she trusted the Texas Rangers and the Texas Department of Public Safety to assist in the investigation. Spokespersons for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment .
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