HOUSTON — The FBI is investigating suspected drugs found inside the van involved in last week’s fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by a federal immigration agent, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in federal court.
The affidavit, signed by FBI Special Agent David McNeilly, states that investigators found what appeared to be a white crystal-like substance packaged in several small plastic bags inside the van. The search warrant was approved by U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett and executed Wednesday.
Salgado Araujo, 52, was driving the van with three passengers when he was shot and killed during what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) described as a targeted enforcement operation.
The affidavit marks the first public reference by federal authorities to suspected drugs in the case. It also states that ICE agents initially attempted to stop the van, which allegedly crossed a median in an apparent attempt to flee before agents relocated it and tried to stop it again.
The document does not mention earlier claims by ICE that Salgado Araujo “weaponized” the vehicle by attempting to strike officers.
David Cruz, a spokesperson for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which represents Salgado Araujo’s family, rejected the allegations, saying the organization believes authorities are attempting to criminalize the victim.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said the FBI granted local prosecutors access to the van as part of their independent investigation. The Texas Rangers and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General are also investigating the shooting, while the FBI is examining a possible assault on a federal officer.
No body camera footage of the shooting exists because the ICE agents involved were not wearing body cameras, and no video of the incident has been publicly released.