As our own Aaron Walker reported on Sunday night, a 28-year-old Venezuelan national named Wilber Rafael Garces Perez was shot and wounded by an ICE agent in Austin, Texas. The woman representing Perez posted on Monday that he was shot while making a DoorDash delivery, adding that "the hospital refused to give his wife access to him or provide any meaningful details on his condition." So he was taken to a hospital? You wouldn't know by listening to Rep. Ro Khanna, who claimed that Perez was "denied urgent medical care." He got this take from The Bulwark's Tim Miller, who said that rather than get Perez medical help, ICE carted him off to a detention complex.
No one should be shot in the back and denied urgent medical care.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) September 21, 2026
The shooting of Venezuelan DoorDash driver Wilber Garcés Pérez by ICE in Austin demands a full investigation.
Abolish ICE. Prosecute rogue agents. https://t.co/pTkONki88P
Both Miller's and Khanna's posts have proposed Community Notes:
The man was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center by EMS in serious but stable condition and released to ICE custody around 4:30 p.m. Sunday, hours after the shooting. The bullet remains lodged near his spine per his statements and attorney.
He received urgent medical care at Dell Seton Medical Center and was then released into ICE custody.
ABC News reported "JUST IN" on Tuesday afternoon that Perez had been released from the hospital.
JUST IN: Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the 28-year-old Venezuelan who was shot Sunday by an ICE officer in Austin, Texas, has been released from the hospital and is back in federal custody, according to his attorney. https://t.co/StIdk0CmnD
— ABC News (@ABC) September 22, 2026
ABC News spoke to Perez's attorney:
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the 28-year-old Venezuelan who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, has been released from the hospital and is back in federal custody, according to his attorney.
Garces Perez's attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said in a social media post on Tuesday that her client was transferred back to a federal detention facility in Pearsall, Texas, after being treated at a hospital.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said that she spoke with Garces Perez by video Tuesday morning and he told her that since returning to the detention facility, Garces Perez has only been "receiving Tylenol and ibuprofen for pain." He also said he has had his communication privileges revoked, allegedly in retaliation for speaking to reporters by phone during a news conference on Monday, according to Lincoln-Goldfinch.
Something about this makes us doubt Khanna's claim that Perez was "denied urgent medical care."
He was given medical care immediately, you liar!
— WannabeAnglican (@WannabeAnglican) September 22, 2026
Sure... because ICE would love all the further negative press by leaving him on the floor in a bare cell to bleed out. pic.twitter.com/rymirhBVv8
— Jeff Ellington 🔥 (@Jeff__Ellington) September 22, 2026
Uhhh @grok, was he taken to a medical facility?
— cementhead🛩️🚀 (@mooneym201) September 22, 2026
No one denied him medical care. He was transported to a hospital, treated, and then released.
— Bob (@BobDC2018) September 21, 2026
Wtf are you even rambling about?
He was admitted to the Dell Seton Medical Center for treatment and then released by the medical staff. https://t.co/JEi9sK1Lvd
— V (@V35000) September 21, 2026
He wasn't denied medical care Rohit. He was treated at the hospital.
— Reza Chowdhury (@RezaC1) September 22, 2026
No one is ever denied urgent medical care, stop lying
— Kyle🎸🎵🎤 (@kylemusicatx) September 22, 2026
That's another Democrat lie. He was taken straight to the hospital
— James Walls (@Jameslwalls1962) September 22, 2026
Nobody got shot in the back and denied medical care. You fucking clown.
— Med_1917 (@1917_med) September 22, 2026
He was in the hospital and released to ICE.
— Always Question! (@TS199052) September 21, 2026
Show proof or shut the hell up.
He was given medical care. Why do Democrats lie about everything?
— Dan (@DanCrow95709096) September 22, 2026
You just randomly jump on whatever moral high ground you think is available don't you?
— Nanabozho (@SaltyRiverWater) September 21, 2026
Except he wasn't denied medical care. He was sent to the hospital.
— SLagonia (@SLagonia2626) September 22, 2026
Why are you believing a post by Tim Miller?
I do not believe you for one minute. I do not believe that this man was denied medical treatment.
— Jenny (@LuckyOptimist) September 22, 2026
He wasn't DENIED medical Care, he was taken to a hospital, where they treated and released him.
— Frio (@Frio_river) September 22, 2026
He was seen at a hospital and discharged. That doesn't sound like he was denied medical care.
— Cactus Rose🇺🇸 (@Cactusrose5) September 22, 2026
I'm so glad that you have gathered all the facts before you tried to make this political.
— Clark Christopher (@chris71764) September 22, 2026
You my friend are the most upstanding public figure on the planet!
It's funny that Khanna says that the shooting demands a full investigation. Let's start by not lying about whether he was denied urgent medical care. Even his attorney complained that the hospital had refused to give his wife access.
***