Bishop of Austin decries ICE shooting as federal officials say man fled arrest

Bishop Daniel E. Garcia of the Diocese of Austin, Texas, said Sunday he was “deeply saddened and disturbed” by an ICE officer’s shooting of a Venezuelan man in Austin, as federal officials described the encounter as an officer responding to the man’s attempt to flee arrest.

In a letter dated Sept. 20, the day of the shooting, Garcia wrote that people in the city are “living in terror and fear because of the increased activity of ICE agents on our streets.”

He asked for prayers for the man who was shot, his family, “all who have been involved and for our entire community,” and for federal, state, and city authorities to be “transparent and honest about what occurred.”

The New York Times reported that ICE agents were checking license plates in north Austin Sunday afternoon when they found a deportation order for Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, whom they pulled over around 12:45 p.m. and told that he would be arrested. Garces Perez then drove away, according to the Times, and a short chase followed.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said ICE requested help about 12:50 p.m. with a vehicle pursuit of a blue Toyota Corolla. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said city police…