Venezuelan says he is being held with a bullet in his back — Jerusalem Post

In Texas, United States, 28-year-old Venezuelan Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, who, according to the Jerusalem Post, was wounded by a federal immigration agent, said he is being held at an ICE center with a bullet in his back. He said this by phone during a press conference held by his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, in Austin.

Perez said he is in pain, continues to bleed and is not receiving proper medical care. According to him, he is forced to sleep on the floor at the detention center. The attorney said her client is being held at the South Texas ICE Processing Center, about 130 miles southwest of Austin, where he is also being questioned by agents.

Treatment after the injury

Perez claims he was discharged from the hospital within four hours of arriving there. He said a doctor allegedly told him that ICE agents were in a hurry to transfer him to the detention center.

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According to Perez, he was working as a DoorDash delivery driver on Sunday when an agents' vehicle struck his car. He said the agents did not identify themselves and did not activate flashing lights or a siren. The man also claims he was shot while still in the vehicle and that there was no foot chase.

Different versions of the incident

Austin police said Perez fled from the agents. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said he was in the country illegally and had a final removal order, but did not provide details of the shooting. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to journalists' requests for comment.

The New York Times, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the federal investigation, wrote that agents were checking license plates in Austin and found that Perez had a deportation order. According to this version, the agents stopped his vehicle, identified themselves and informed him that he was being detained, after which he allegedly fled. According to the newspaper, this led to a brief chase, a vehicle collision and the shooting. Lincoln-Goldfinch said this version does not match her client's account.