The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated on Thursday (July 9) that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was shot and killed by federal immigration enforcement officers in Houston this week, was not the intended target of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation. Officials said that this Mexican undocumented immigrant was involved in an immigration enforcement operation in Texas, where he rammed an ICE vehicle and attempted to flee.
According to The Guardian, ICE agents were searching for two Guatemalan men at the time of the shooting.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday (July 7) before 7 a.m. Central time. ICE confirmed that the deceased, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican citizen, was an “illegal immigrant” who tried to evade arrest during the targeted immigration enforcement operation.
ICE described that Salgado Araujo “initially crashed into an ICE enforcement vehicle, refused to comply with multiple verbal commands, and then used the vehicle as a weapon, attempting to strike an ICE agent.”
ICE stated that the confrontation led to “our officers firing in self-defense,” hitting the driver who was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
A video captured by a passerby in a car and shared online by Houston’s Fox TV affiliate KRIV-TV shows two ICE agents crouched on a street next to a white van, with one man lying on the ground and two other men handcuffed and lying on the other side of the van.
Ronaldo Salgado claimed to be the son of the shot driver. He told local Spanish-language TV station Telemundo Houston that his father was in the area looking for day laborers before the incident.
According to The Guardian, Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had lived in the U.S. for 35 years, operated a construction company in Houston suburbs that had been building hundreds of houses for the past 30 years. At the time of the incident, he was driving a white van to work with three other people on board.
Following the shooting, the three individuals were detained by the police, with one confirmed to be the victim’s brother, Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo.
A statement provided anonymously by a DHS official to The Guardian mentioned that law enforcement officers obtained clues about the target address from a partner, and previously had found two white vans at the property. The official said, “On July 7, officers nearly reached the target residence when they found a white van with a person bearing a resemblance to the target inside.” The statement did not elaborate further on the situation.
DHS stated that the involved officers did not have body cameras at the time. The DHS Inspector General’s Office is leading an investigation into the shooting involving its agents, and the FBI Houston field office is investigating the alleged assault by Salgado Araujo on federal law enforcement officers.
Federal representative Sylvia Garcia (Texas Democrat) mentioned being aware of the shooting incident. “ICE has provided initial details, but the facts must be subject to an independent and thorough investigation, including the circumstances leading to the use of deadly force,” Garcia stated.
“All available video, communications records, and other evidence should be preserved and reviewed as part of a comprehensive and impartial investigation. The families of the victims, my constituents, and the entire community deserve a complete transparent explanation of the events.”
Federal representative Christian Menefee (Texas Democrat) supported Garcia’s call for an independent investigation. “I fully support an independent, transparent investigation into this shooting incident,” Menefee stated. “All information gathered from the investigation must be made public… We must ensure transparency in this investigation.”
ICE mentioned that their enforcement officers are facing increasing incidents of violence during immigration enforcement operations.
(References: The Guardian, The Hill, and English Epoch Times)