Federal immigration agent shoots and injures man in Austin, Texas

Bullet holes can be seen in a car in Austin, Texas, on Sunday. Courtesy of Austin Councilmember Mike Siegel hide caption

A federal immigration agent on Sunday shot and injured a man in Austin, authorities said.

Austin Councilmember Mike Siegel spoke to NPR from the scene of the shooting, which is just blocks from his home. He said he saw that the man's car had at least two bullet holes in the passenger side. Photos from the scene confirm that.

At least one uninjured person in civilian clothes was put in handcuffs on the scene, according to video provided by Siegel.

The person shot is in serious but stable condition, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a press conference.

"This is a terrible incident that we were hoping to avoid in our community," Councilmember Siegel said. "My hope today is that we can investigate what happened, and if an (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officer committed a crime that they will be fully prosecuted, and then we can hope to restore some semblance of law and order in this country."

It's unclear what led to the shooting. The Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.

Dozens of community members gathered to protest at the scene of the shooting. This shooting is the latest in a series of violent encounters involving ICE agents.

Mayor Watson said he was angry and upset about the shooting but "not surprised at all." He said this has happened in other cities like Chicago and Minneapolis where the Department of Homeland Security has conducted big immigration enforcement operations.

The state of Texas has been working closely with the federal government in issues related to immigration. The Texas Department of Public Safety has been working closely with ICE since President Trump took office last year.

Congressman Greg Casar, a Democrat who represents Austin, demanded an independent investigation into Sunday's shooting.

"Over and over, ICE has shot people and then lied about what happened," Casar said in a news release, referencing the deadly shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year. Video footage has disproved DHS's claims that Good was trying to run over ICE agents with her vehicle.

"We can see the lies with our own eyes. We will demand truth, transparency and accountability," Casar said.

Sunday's ICE shooting is at least the second to happen this year in Texas.