Key facts
- ICE agents killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop in Houston.
- The Department of Homeland Security stated Salgado Araujo was not the intended target.
- Agents were reportedly searching for two Guatemalan nationals.
- Salgado Araujo was a Mexican immigrant who had resided in the U.S. for 35 years.
- Three other individuals in the van were taken into custody.
- The ICE agents involved claimed self-defense, stating Salgado Araujo attempted to run over an officer.
Federal immigration agents killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop in Houston this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed. Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of the operation, according to DHS.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were reportedly seeking two individuals from Guatemala when they attempted to stop Salgado Araujo, a Mexican immigrant who had lived in the U.S. for 35 years. Salgado Araujo was driving three other people in a white van on his way to work early Tuesday morning when the incident occurred.
Following the shooting, the three men who were in the van with Salgado Araujo were taken into custody. One of these individuals has been identified by advocates as Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, the victim's brother, who remains in immigration detention.
ICE agents involved in the stop claimed Salgado Araujo "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer" who then fired his weapon "in self-defense." DHS has not provided evidence to corroborate this account, and the officers involved were not wearing body cameras.