10
Loading video...
By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A masked protester was filmed spray-painting "Kill Donald Trump" on a bridge in Austin, Texas, near where a Venezuelan man was shot and wounded by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent while delivering food for DoorDash.
The site near Anderson Square and Research Boulevard has been the center of protests since Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was shot on Sunday. A photo taken on Monday shows a pillar covered with graffiti reading "F*** ICE," "F*** Donald Trump," "Kill all pedos," "Kill Donald Trump" and "It doesn’t stop with Epstein." At the bottom of the column, "Talarico" is spray-painted with a heart, adding "love winz," seemingly referring to Democratic State Representative James Talarico,
The messages appeared separately on the pillar, and it is unclear whether they were intended to be connected. Newsweek has found no evidence that the references to pedophiles and Epstein were making a factual allegation about Trump or anyone else named at the site.
Read More on News
The circumstances of the incident that led to the shooting are unclear. Garces Perez's attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said her client's blue Toyota Corolla was "sideswiped" twice by ICE officers in an unmarked vehicle. She said he was shot and taken to the hospital but later released into ICE custody with a bullet still inside him. She said he is "now experiencing left side paralysis."
...
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson called Garces Perez an "illegal alien who illegally entered our country under the Biden administration and had a final order of removal" in a statement to Newsweek on Sunday. The shooting occurred "during a law enforcement operation," according to the department.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said her client was an asylum seeker who entered the U.S. through a parole program. She said in a post on X that he "was issued a valid work permit" and the "issue regarding the deportation order is that he moved and changed addresses."
On Monday, Garces Perez—who was brought to an infirmary at the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, on Sunday—complained about not having received proper treatment for his gunshot wound or received pain medication, as reported by CNN.
“I am not doing well due to the gunshot wound, and I have not received the medical attention that I require,” he said during a press conference on the phone, aided by a translator.
Later that day, Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a video on social media that Garces Perez had been transferred to a hospital.
In a video statement emailed to Newsweek Monday night, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the department is conducting an investigation into the shooting, gathering physical evidence, reviewing video footage, interviewing witnesses and working with federal, state and local partners to determine what occurred.
She urged anyone with photos, videos or information to come forward, stressing that investigators will follow the evidence rather than speculation. Davis also said Austin police will continue to provide updates as information is verified and becomes legally releasable.
Social Media Backlash
The graffiti sparked backlash on social media from right-wing commentators. Turning Point USA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet, wrote on X: "The legacy media that was just kicked out of the White House would have you believe the people who spray paint 'Kill Donald Trump' are the loving, tolerant ones."
Conservative influencer Nick Sortor wrote: "THIS SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED! Federal agents should be SWARMING their houses tonight. NO MERCY!"
As anger boils up within an increasingly politically divided society, the words “Kill Donald Trump” spray-painted by the Austin protester on the site of the ICE shooting are also a reminder of the several assassination attempts that Trump has survived over the last couple of years.
Meanwhile, the shooting of Garces Perez has led to calls for action from Democratic lawmakers. Talarico, a Democratic Texas state representative who is running for the U.S. Senate in the Lone Star State, called for an independent investigation into the shooting and the release of all video footage available.
He wrote on X on Monday: "Wilber came to this country legally. He has no criminal record. An ICE agent shot him anyway. He slept on a prison cell floor with a bullet still lodged in his back. He can’t move the left side of his body. This isn’t law enforcement. It’s lawlessness."
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said that he was "very angry and extremely disappointed that a person was shot on the streets of Austin by ICE." He called for the Austin police to be involved in the investigation, saying he wants them to provide "clear, third-party eyes" in the process.
...
Widespread Anger in Texas
The shooting in Austin on Sunday has rekindled widespread anger against ICE in Texas, where federal agents shot and killed a Mexican man in Houston during a traffic stop in July.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was driving a work van carrying three men to a construction job. Federal agents in unmarked SUVs pursued the van and, after stopping it, an ICE officer shot Salgado Araujo. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died. The three men traveling with him were detained by immigration authorities.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, Salgado Araujo attempted to ram an ICE vehicle and “weaponized” his van in an attempt to run over an agent, prompting the officer to fire in self-defense.
The three passengers, Salgado Araujo’s family and local officials disputed that account. Available surveillance footage has raised questions about the department’s account, although no video has emerged that clearly shows the moment of the shooting.
The moment an ICE agent fired at Garces Perez’s vehicle was apparently recorded in a livestream by Austin resident Heidi Ann Clark, who was driving by the scene around 12:50 p.m. local time when she was suddenly distracted by the sound of a fast-moving vehicle slamming on its brakes on the other side of the road.
Turning the camera to the incident, the woman captured an unmarked SUV stopping near a blue Toyota Corolla believed to belong to Garces Perez, and an ICE officer firing three shots toward the car.
Another video shared on the day showed Garces Perez holding his left shoulder with his right hand while sitting in the car.
ICE Under Scrutiny
ICE has come under intense scrutiny for its use and potential abuse of violence since the Trump administration launched an aggressive anti-immigration agenda last year. As of September 1, according to the National Immigration Project, at least 26 people have reportedly died in ICE custody this year, while 33 detainees died in 2025.
Several people have been shot and killed by ICE agents this year, including U.S. citizens Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
The anger against ICE actions has backfired on Trump, as the president has seen his support among Latino communities drop since his victory at the 2024 presidential election.
Latino voters backed Trump with unprecedented levels of support in November 2024, with roughly 46 percent of self-identified Latino voters picking him that year, up from 32 percent in the 2020 election, according to Reuters data mentioned by Harvard University.
But according to a September poll from the New York Times/Siena University, more than 65 percent of Latino voters said they are dissatisfied with Trump’s handling of the presidency, and 78 percent said they would prefer to see the Democratic party in control of Congress.
Backs-and-forths around the disclosure of a massive collection of documents related to the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein—the so-called Epstein files—which Trump had promised during his 2024 campaign is also something that has alienated some of his supporters.
Especially within the MAGA space, the lack of arrests after the release of the Epstein files earlier this year backfired against the Trump administration. However, the likes of Kash Patel, Pam Bondi and Steve Bannon, who were accused of staging a cover-up, were targeted more than the president.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Tony Phillips.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines