What we know about the Houston ICE killing
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A bouquet of flowers and a devotional candle are placed on the pavement where Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot near the intersection of Wayside Drive and Canal Street. Photo: Reginald Mathalone/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are investigating after an ICE agent fatally shot longtime Houston resident Lorenzo Salgado Araujo early Tuesday morning. Local leaders are calling for an independent, transparent investigation.
The big picture: The shooting happened around 6:50am Tuesday after ICE agents stopped a vehicle and attempted to arrest Araujo as part of a "targeted enforcement operation," per the federal agency.
- DHS said in a statement that Araujo "weaponized his vehicle" and tried to "run over" an agent, who then fired his weapon in self-defense. Araujo was taken to a hospital, where he died after being shot at least once.
The latest: The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a civil rights organization, local officials and activists are demanding an independent and transparent investigation.
- "We don't expect the truth from the Department of Justice or from the FBI. We expect a whitewash," LULAC CEO Juan Proaño said at a Wednesday morning press conference.
- "I'm here to make sure that facts are not buried. Lorenzo's family deserves answers, my constituents deserve answers," U.S. Rep Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston) said at the press conference. "I will keep pressing until we get a complete, independent, and transparent accounting of what actually happened."
- Houston Mayor John Whitmire says the city is monitoring the situation and is insisting on a "transparent, independent investigation," adding HPD was not involved.
What they're saying: "My father was a simple man, a family man. ... He wanted nothing else in life but to provide for his wife and see his sons become great people," his eldest son, Ronaldo Salgado, said at the news conference Wednesday. "He did not deserve to die."
- He said his father, a small business owner, had spent nearly 35 years in the U.S., working construction to support his wife and three sons.
What we know: Araujo was on his way to a construction job with three workers, including his brother, when he encountered ICE agents in unmarked vehicles near Wayside Drive and Canal Street, his son and LULAC representatives said at the press conference.
- Axios reached out to DHS asking for evidence that the agent acted in self-defense.
Friction point: LULAC leaders drew comparisons to the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year.
Between the lines: ICE officials said Araujo was living in the country without authorization. His family says he was in the process of obtaining a work permit.
Zoom out: The shooting comes as ICE enforcement operations have intensified nationwide.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from Houston Mayor John Whitmire.