Venezuelan driver charged with assault after being shot by ICE agent in Texas

Federal prosecutors in the United States have charged Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a 28‑year‑old Venezuelan delivery driver, with assaulting a federal officer.

The charge stems from an incident on 20 September in Texas, when Garcés Pérez was shot in his car by an immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Prosecutors allege he struck the officer with his vehicle’s side mirror while attempting to drive away.

According to a criminal complaint, Garcés Pérez faces one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer. He appeared in an Austin federal court on Tuesday for his initial hearing, as confirmed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

Garcés Pérez’s lawyer has said the driver still has a bullet lodged in his back from the shooting.

Source: The Guardian. Photo: Erik Mclean / Pexels.