ICE Officer Who Shot Venezuelan Man Was Not Wearing Body Camera
Left 80%
Center 20%
Right 0%
4 left · 1 center · 0 right
What happened
On a Sunday afternoon in Austin, Texas, an ICE officer shot Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan DoorDash driver, in the upper torso, leaving a bullet lodged in his back. Department of Homeland Security officials said the officer had been issued a body camera but was not wearing it; another ICE officer in the same vehicle was wearing a camera that captured partial footage that does not include the moment of the shooting. Garcés Pérez was treated at a hospital and then taken into ICE custody at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall; a federal judge later temporarily blocked deportation proceedings, and Austin police released dash-cam and cellphone video from an off-duty officer showing parts of the aftermath, not the lead-up. The shooting officer had joined ICE the previous year after working as a Border Patrol officer at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. DHS has said Garcés Pérez is in the country illegally with a final deportation order; his attorney says he entered legally, sought asylum, and was ordered removed in absentia after missing a hearing sent to an old address.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 5 articles
3 of 5 articles cite a named source for the story. It started with unnamed sources; a named source appeared 3 hours later.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 3 of 5
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis, Austin Police Department, Two officials with the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security and sources familiar with the investigation
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 2 of 5
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: video footage, dash cam and body camera footage, press conference
- Credits another outlet 0 of 5
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 2 of 5
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 22, 16:29 UTC by The Atlantic, with no named source. First named source 3 hours later, from NBC News. First document 3 hours later, from NBC News (video footage).
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only left-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
Washington Examiner reported it on 2026-09-21.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage reports that the ICE officer who shot a Venezuelan DoorDash driver in Austin was issued a body camera but was not wearing it, and that a partner in the same vehicle wore one that still missed the moment of the shooting. Right-leaning outlets had not covered this as of publication. A reader who relies on those outlets would not know the shooting occurred, that Austin police released other video of the aftermath, or that a federal judge has blocked the man's deportation.
Left-leaning coverage also splits on the detention aftermath. Isolation, revoked communication privileges, and a return from the hospital to a detention center appear in NBC News and not in The Atlantic, which notes only that the officer was hired last year from another federal agency.
What, if anything, does ICE require when an officer is issued a body camera and does not wear it during a shooting?
Bottom line
Right-leaning outlets have not reported the Austin ICE shooting, including the NBC News report that the officer who fired had been issued a body camera and was not wearing it.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- The ICE officer who shot Garcés Pérez was issued a body camera but was not wearing it during the shooting.
- His attorney said Garcés Pérez was ordered deported in absentia after a hearing notice went to an old address.
- A senior administration official said Garcés Pérez did not have a criminal history beyond being in the country illegally.
- His attorney alleged that after a phone news conference, detention staff revoked his communication privileges and moved him into isolation.
- Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said all ICE officers would be equipped with body cams by the end of September.
- The Travis County District Attorney’s Office asked that Garcés Pérez remain in the country as a witness in the criminal investigation of the shooting.
The Left View
The Atlantic, NBC News, and CBS News report that the ICE officer who shot Garcés Pérez was issued a body camera but was not wearing it, a detail first highlighted by The Atlantic and confirmed to NBC and CBS by DHS-connected sources. Coverage centers on the missing camera relative to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s pledge that ICE would equip officers with body cameras by the end of September, on attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch’s account that an unmarked truck sideswiped Garcés Pérez, chased him, and pulled him from the car, and on his subsequent hospitalization, transfer to detention, reported loss of arm movement, fractured clavicle, isolation, and restricted communications. Outlets note Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis’s release of off-duty-officer video with three gunshots audible, a Travis County DA request that he remain as a material witness, a habeas petition and Judge Orlando Garcia’s order setting a hearing, and DHS’s statements that he was in stable condition, in custody pending removal, and, per a senior official cited by NBC, had no criminal history beyond unlawful presence. Framing treats the shooting as part of a series of incidents involving federal immigration agents, with protests and calls for a transparent investigation.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it involves named people and agencies, a checkable court order, police-released video, and on-the-record or source-attributed statements from DHS officials and Garcés Pérez’s attorney—not a single anonymous claim. Established: an ICE officer shot Garcés Pérez in Austin; the shooter was not wearing an issued body camera; a second officer’s camera missed the shot; Garcés Pérez was hospitalized then detained in Pearsall; a federal judge blocked immediate deportation; Austin PD was not involved in the shooting itself. Still alleged or unresolved: why the camera was off; Garcés Pérez’s account of the chase and whether he knew the pursuers were ICE; legal status (DHS: final deportation order / attorney: lawful entry, asylum claim, missed notice); adequacy of medical care after the shooting. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for ICE’s explanation of the missing camera, any vehicle or other ICE footage, Austin PD’s completed investigation, the habeas hearing, and independent medical or forensic findings on the shooting sequence.
4 sources
More stories
The week's bottom lines, in your inbox
One email a week: the five stories that mattered and what they actually mean. Free.