HOUSTON, Texas — Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare confirmed Friday that his office has opened an investigation into the fatal shooting of Houston resident Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, despite the lack of access to evidence being gathered by federal authorities.
Teare said his office is conducting its own investigation after receiving requests from Salgado Araujo’s family, community members and elected officials. He urged witnesses to provide statements, surveillance footage or other evidence related to the July 7 shooting in Houston’s Magnolia Park neighborhood.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said Acting ICE Director David Venturella told her that the ICE officers involved were not wearing body cameras and that the three unmarked ICE vehicles at the scene did not have dashboard cameras.
Garcia said Congress appropriated $20 million last year for ICE body cameras and that Venturella told her the devices would be distributed to ICE officers nationwide by the end of July.
Attorney Hugo Baldera-Ybarra, who represents two of the three men who witnessed the shooting, said his clients’ accounts differ from the information released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
DHS said Salgado Araujo, 52, ignored verbal commands, struck an unmarked federal vehicle with his van and attempted to run over an ICE agent, prompting the agent to fire in self-defense.
Garcia said she saw no damage to the unmarked SUV that Salgado Araujo allegedly struck. Baldera-Ybarra said his clients described events that differed from the federal account.
Baldera-Ybarra said he met with the three witnesses, who are being held at an ICE detention facility in Conroe, and advised them not to sign documents or agree to return to Mexico while the investigation is ongoing. He also called for their release.
The three witnesses, including Salgado Araujo’s brother, were passengers in the van and were traveling to a construction job when the shooting occurred shortly before 7 a.m.
Garcia said Venturella told her federal agents were targeting another individual and not Salgado Araujo during the operation. DHS previously said ICE agents began surveillance after receiving information from another law enforcement agency that led them to a Houston residence and later to Salgado Araujo’s vehicle.
Garcia said Venturella declined to identify the ICE agent who fired the fatal shot and did not commit to an independent investigation. She added that he told her he would not answer congressional questions until the federal investigation concludes.
The FBI is investigating the incident as a possible assault on a federal law enforcement officer, while the DHS Office of Inspector General is investigating the shooting. Garcia said she has not been given a timeline for either investigation.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire directed Police Chief Noe Diaz on Friday to notify DHS and the FBI that the Houston Police Department is prepared to provide resources to assist the investigation.
On Thursday, Garcia and fellow Houston-area representatives Lizzie Fletcher, Al Green and Christian Menefee sent a letter to DHS and ICE requesting an immediate, independent and transparent investigation. The lawmakers also sought information about the operation, including whether ICE had an administrative warrant, who authorized it, how many agents participated and why Salgado Araujo’s identity was released before his family was notified.
Garcia also said the ICE vehicles involved did not use emergency lights or sirens during the operation.
Teare said Harris County investigators responded to the scene after federal authorities released it and have continued collecting evidence.
“We investigate every officer-involved shooting in Harris County,” Teare said. “When it involves an agency that is not ICE, universally we are invited in that day. We run a parallel investigation where we collaborate with law enforcement, be it a federal agency or state and local agencies. We were not invited into this scene on Tuesday.”
Rep. Al Green expressed support for the district attorney’s investigation and said local authorities have a responsibility to seek accountability.
Green also said U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, informed him that members of Congress would hold a public hearing in Houston if they do not receive the information they seek from federal authorities.
Immigrant advocacy groups said they plan to continue public demonstrations and community outreach following the shooting. The Cypress-Tomball Democrats scheduled a “Justice for Lorenzo” protest in Conroe on Saturday, while Organized Power in Numbers announced it would conduct community outreach in Houston’s East End to inform residents of their legal rights.