ICE agent shot and wounded man in Austin, Texas, officials say

Police say the man is in hospital in serious but stable condition

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man on Sunday afternoon in the Texas capital of Austin, local officials said, where anti-ICE protesters quickly gathered at the scene.

The man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on Austin's north side, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference with the city's mayor and other officials present.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, didn't immediately respond to requests for details.

Austin police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, which occurred after a traffic stop, Davis told reporters.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said he wants the city's police department to be involved in the investigation so it can provide "clear, third-party eyes" in the process. Watson said he does not think it would be appropriate for ICE to conduct the investigation on its own.

Austin residents have "a right to feel safe in their city," Watson said. A proper investigation will only enhance credibility, he added.

Davis said there were not many facts she could provide so soon after the shooting, but added the police department's special investigation unit was at the scene. She said she did not yet know the nationality of the person who was shot.

A dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes, local media reported.

A large law enforcement presence was at the scene, along with a crowd of onlookers, along with a crowd of about a hundred protesters. Some demonstrators cursed at police officers holding riot shields, while others yelled out as passing cars honked in support of the protest. One man held a sign saying, "Nobody is safe" and, on the other side, "ICE Nazi."

Asked if Austin authorities knew where the involved federal agent is, given that agents have left states after previous shootings nationwide, the mayor said: "We do not know that. But my hope would be that, an agent that's involved in an officer-involved shooting would not leave the city. Certainly not leave the state."

'This horror has come to our doorstep'

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, called for transparency as the shooting is investigated.

"It is awful that this horror has come to our doorstep," Casar said to reporters. "For Austin to be safe, ICE should end its surge here."

The shooting comes as ICE surges enforcement across the country this summer, producing more than 50,000 arrests a month for the first time in its history in July and August.

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In July, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after federal agents driving unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

Also in July, 25-year-old Johan Sebastián, a Colombian man, was shot by an ICE officer in Maine. The officer is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood and never should have been given a badge and gun to patrol American streets, several of his close relatives told The Associated Press.

The shootings come amid a Trump administration push to carry out mass deportations. While the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, arrests are still occurring.

The administration's enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.