Houston ICE shooting update: Homeland Security says agents were looking for another man when Lorenzo Salgado was killed
Federal immigration agent shoots Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during traffic stop Houston The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Thursday it was searching for another person this week.
ICE agents are hunting two Guatemalans
The Department of Homeland Security said agents had been conducting surveillance at an address associated with two Guatemalan nationals after receiving a tip from law enforcement partners.
“On July 7, when officers nearly arrived at the target’s address, they spotted an individual similar to the target in a white van. Officers then initiated a vehicle stop,” the Department of Homeland Security said.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, officers had previously observed two white vans at the property. When they returned on July 7, they saw a white van driven by a man similar to their target and initiated a traffic stop.
Officials later identified the driver as Lorenzo, a Mexican citizen who had lived in the United States for more than 35 years and was heading to a construction site with three co-workers. Other passengers in Lorenzo’s car included Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, the victim’s brother Jose Trinidad Rojas Priego and Daniel Tirado Pantoja, the New York Times reported.
The Department of Homeland Security said agents learned before the interception that the registered owner of the vehicle did not have legal immigration status.
Homeland Security Accounts and Lost Body Camera Footage
federal officials said Tuesday, insisting Lorenzo was trying to evade arrest by using his van as a weapon.
ICE said he rammed a law enforcement vehicle and ignored repeated verbal commands before an agent opened fire in self-defense. Houston firefighters said Lorenzo was shot in the abdomen before his truck crashed into an ICE vehicle. He later died in hospital.
No official video or photos of the shooting have been released.
However, DHS also claimed that ICE agents on the scene were not wearing body cameras because officers at the Houston field office had not yet obtained the equipment.
Victor remains in custody at an immigration detention center in Conroe, Texas, north of Houston.
A department spokesman blamed the procurement delays on previous federal funding missteps and the government shutdown. Officials said about half of ICE field offices are now equipped with body cameras and the remaining offices are expected to receive them within 60 days.
Family dispute ICE version
Lorenzo’s family disputed the government’s account. His eldest son, Ronaldo Salgado, said his father would cooperate if he realized he was being stopped by law enforcement. The family believes the use of an unmarked vehicle may have contributed to the fatal encounter.
The family also said that Lorenzo had no criminal record and that after years of efforts to obtain legal status in the United States, his work permit was about to be approved. They described him as a devoted husband, father of three sons and owner of a construction business that employed dozens of workers.
After the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that agents had been looking for others, Ronaldo Salgado called the news “outrageous” and questioned why his father was the focus of the operation, The New York Times reported.
