Ronaldo Salgado Demands Independent Investigation After ICE Officer Kills Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood on Tuesday morning, after federal officials said his vehicle was rammed and that he refused to follow multiple verbal commands.

“The family of a man killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Texas has called for an investigation into the incident”

Al Jazeera

CBS News reported that the shooting happened Tuesday and that Houston firefighters said Salgado Araujo was shot in the abdomen, while the Department of Homeland Security said the driver was transported to the hospital where he passed away from his injuries.

Al Jazeera

PBS, citing the Associated Press, said Salgado Araujo had no criminal convictions during his decades living in the U.S. and that his son Ronaldo Salgado said he was driving a crew to a homebuilding site when he was killed.

The Texas Tribune reported that ICE officials claimed the 52-year-old “refused to follow multiple verbal commands” and “weaponized his vehicle” to try to run over the agent who fired the fatal shot, while the family said he panicked because unmarked cars followed him and he suspected someone was trying to steal his van and work tools.

The incident unfolded as federal officials said ICE officers were targeting him because he was living in the country without legal permission, and the Department of Homeland Security said the man’s car struck an ICE vehicle.

Ronaldo Salgado demanded an independent probe and said, “He did not deserve to die,” while the League of United Latin American Citizens president Roman Palomares told reporters that the federal crackdown has created a country where it is "open season on Latinos" by officers who think they can "shoot and explain later."

CBS News quoted Palomares saying, “Your pattern has been one of inaccuracies of prejudicial leaks before the facts are known, of twisting the narrative to fit your version of events,” as the league offered a $5,000 reward for information and videos from witnesses.

CBS News

The Texas Tribune reported that U.S. Rep. Al Green called for “a hearing, so that the public can see and hear as much evidence as is available, especially body camera footage,” and said the family met with Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare after the press conference.

Houston Public Media reported that LULAC President Ramon Palomares said, “This is not an isolated event across the nation,” and that the group was asking the Houston Police Department to investigate in the city’s East End.

The Guardian reported that Roman Palomares criticized ICE and the DHS for their claims during a Wednesday press conference, saying, “We do not believe you, you have not earned that trust,” as questions swirled around federal officials’ statements and lack of transparency.

Federal officials said the Department of Homeland Security would lead an investigation, while the FBI would spearhead an inquiry into the “potential assault on a law enforcement officer,” and the ICE spokesperson said the FBI had taken over the investigation into the shooting.

“HOUSTON – A Mexican national fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Houston had no criminal convictions during his decades living in the U”

Click2Houston

Houston Chronicle reported that the FBI said it was investigating the alleged assault of an ICE officer while the federal agency is looking into the “agent-involved shooting,” and that the FBI sent its evidence response team to the scene.

Houston Public Media said the League of United Latin American Citizens was calling for a “full federal” and “independent” investigation and asked Houston Police Department to investigate in Houston’s East End, while Palomares demanded preservation and release of evidence including “body cam, dash cam, bystander video, dispatch logs, everything that would be available to us.”

The Texas Tribune said the family and community leaders urged the city and county to launch a full, open investigation because they had received little information from ICE about the fatal shooting, and it quoted Ronaldo Salgado saying, “My father would have complied.”

In parallel, the Guardian reported that the DHS announced that the department’s inspector general’s office and the FBI are investigating the events, while the Houston mayor’s office said local city officials do not hold jurisdiction over federal law enforcement matters and that Mayor John Whitmire insisted on a “transparent, independent” investigation by federal authorities.