ICE officer shoots man after traffic stop in north Austin
Austin officials are seeking city police involvement in an investigation after an unnamed man was shot once in the torso and left in serious but stable condition.
An unnamed man was shot once in the torso by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer after a traffic stop in north Austin on Sunday afternoon, local authorities said.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the man was in serious but stable condition in hospital. She said Austin police officers were not involved in the operation or shooting, but the department’s special investigations unit was at the scene.
Mayor Kirk Watson called for Austin police to have a role in the investigation, saying the process required clear, third-party oversight. He said it would not be appropriate for ICE to investigate the shooting on its own.
Authorities have not publicly explained what led to the shooting or identified the man or the involved officer. Davis said police did not yet know the man’s nationality, while Watson said the city did not know whether the agent remained in Austin or Texas.
About 100 protesters gathered at the scene as a large law enforcement presence remained nearby. The shooting comes during an ICE enforcement surge across the United States, with the agency reportedly recording more than 50,000 arrests a month in July and August.
In July, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston after federal agents pursued him, according to the report. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, had not provided details at the time of reporting.
