Federal immigration agents who fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop in Houston this week were searching for a different person, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Thursday.
ICE agents were chasing two Guatemalans
DHS said agents had been conducting surveillance at an address linked to two Guatemalan nationals after receiving a tip from law enforcement partners.
DHS said, “On July 7, officers were almost at the target's address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop.”
According to DHS, 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 who resembled one of their targets and initiated a traffic stop.
Officials later confirmed the driver was Lorenzo, a Mexican citizen who had lived in the United States for more than 35 years and was on his way to a construction site with three coworkers. The New York Times reported that Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, the victim's younger brother, Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, and Daniel Tirado Pantoja were the other passengers in Lorenzo's car.
DHS said agents learned before the stop that the registered owner lacked legal immigration status.
{{/usCountry}}DHS said agents learned before the stop that the registered owner lacked legal immigration status.
{{/usCountry}}DHS account and missing body camera footage
Federal officials said on Tuesday and maintain that Lorenzo attempted to evade arrest by using his van as a weapon.
ICE alleged he rammed a law enforcement vehicle and ignored repeated verbal commands before an agent fired in self-defence. Houston firefighters said Lorenzo suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen before his van struck an ICE vehicle. He later died at a hospital.
No official video or photographs of the shooting have been released.
However, DHS also claimed that the ICE agents at the scene were not wearing body cameras because officers in the Houston field office had not yet been issued the equipment.
Victor is still in an immigration detention center in Conroe, Texas, north of Houston.
A department spokesperson blamed previous federal funding lapses and government shutdowns for delaying procurement. Officials said roughly half of ICE field offices now have body cameras, while the remaining offices are expected to receive them within 60 days.
Family disputes ICE version
Lorenzo's family has challenged the government's account. His eldest son, Ronaldo Salgado, said his father would have cooperated if he had realised he was being stopped by law enforcement. The family believes the use of unmarked vehicles may have contributed to the fatal encounter.
The family also said that Lorenzo had no criminal record and was nearing approval for a work permit after years of working toward legal status in the United States. They described him as a devoted husband, father of three sons and owner of a construction business that employed dozens of workers.
Speaking after DHS acknowledged agents had been searching for someone else, Ronaldo Salgado called the revelation "outrageous" and questioned why his father became the focus of the operation, per the NYT.