New surveillance video has emerged showing flashing lights and audible sirens from ICE vehicles during a high-speed chase in Austin that ended with an officer shooting Wilber Perez, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela.
Perez was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday, September 20, following the pursuit. He was shot during the arrest but survived and remains in ICE custody at a processing facility in South Texas.
The case has drawn protests and dispute over what happened before the shooting. Perez has said an ICE SUV pulled up alongside him while he was driving and that he initially believed it was simply an aggressive driver rather than law enforcement. He has also said ICE officers did not activate lights or sirens, or ask him to stop, until after his vehicle had already been sideswiped.
Footage obtained by Turning Point USA’s Savanah Hernandez and shared with her by an Austin-area security company appears to contradict that account. The clip, which runs a little over a minute and shows two separate camera angles, was recorded at 12:45 p.m. on September 20, shortly before the shooting occurred.
In the footage, two Department of Homeland Security vehicles can be seen pursuing Perez as he drives at high speed, with sirens clearly audible throughout. In the earlier portion of the video, Perez’s vehicle shows no visible damage, and the pursuing ICE vehicles’ sirens are already running. Still images from later in the sequence show damage to Perez’s car.
Hernandez credited an Austin resident identified as @Fabius_USA for supplying the footage.
According to the report, Perez had a final order for removal and was in the country illegally, which is why DHS had been pursuing him. He remains in federal custody as the case continues to develop.
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